


Dark

by pinkroses95



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dark, Dark Mark (Harry Potter), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Hogwarts, War, Wizarding World (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:41:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28902051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkroses95/pseuds/pinkroses95
Summary: “Nova...Malfoy? Merlin, there’s two of them”
Relationships: Harry Potter/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. Nova Druella Malfoy.

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note - The characters in this story (beside O.C.’s) are not mine: Full character credits go to J.K. Rowling. 
> 
> Feel free to cast Nova as whoever you like, in my head she is Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) in the very earlier seasons of Game of Thrones.

**Nova Druella Malfoy.**

Nova Malfoy grew up at Malfoy Manor alongside her twin brother, Draco Malfoy. Though being a mere seven minutes and forty-two seconds apart, Draco Malfoy was always very protective of his younger sister. Even before the two could walk, it was very apparent that they were not just any Witch and Wizard. As Pureblood’s of the Malfoy family, the two were raised to be as successful as they could be, no matter the cost.

The twins were raised in a dark time and their home life was harsh. Their Father, Lucius Malfoy, believed tough love was the only way to raise thriving Witches and Wizards for the next generation. To keep one another safe growing up, they made a pact, _"Semper Simul"._ The twins knew from incredibly young that fellow Pureblood Witches and Wizards were the only acceptable companionship they should have; therefore, at arrival at Hogwarts the pair stuck together alongside a small group of friends including Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, and Nova’s personal favourite Blaise Zabini.

Harry Potter, like for so many other children, had been an often topic of conversation for the Malfoy twins. They had both heard the stories of the ‘Boy Who Lived’ and ‘The Chosen One’ throughout their childhood. Nova always found it fascinating, the boy who survived a curse that no one else ever had, Draco was less interested. Lucius Malfoy tried to keep the topic as quiet for his children, the boy had been removed from the Wizarding World after the attack so his ideals of the tale being a myth were quickly believed by the twins – that was until they met Harry Potter at Hogwarts. 

As Nova grew through school, she became her own person. The Pureblood supremacy was still there but beneath it was buried the acknowledgement that no matter who someone was or where they came from, everyone bled the same. Draco, however, was the exact product of their Father. Ruthless, cruel and a general brat. The twins taught themseleves Occlumency from a young age, with help from their Aunt Bella whenever they needed aid. 

Although the twins were both incredibly smart with top grades, many still underestimated their true devotion to the Dark Lord and whether they truly shared the same beliefs as their parents. Draco was the first to discover the return of Voldemort, running to tell his twin in excitement as soon as he knew. His excitement, as usual, reflected Mr Malfoy, their Father stating, _“the family’s glory days were back once more”._ Their Father took this eagerness at grasp, mirroring Draco in top secret family affairs regarding the Dark Lord, often leaving Nova watching on the side-lines.

Draco’s life had been shielded until this point; he had been an advantaged boy, due to his status now, with his responsibilities he often struggled. Nova became a shoulder to cry on and a hand to hold in the dark times that were waiting. The events of the Malfoy twins’ late teens changed their lives forever. Nova conflicting beliefs to her families were pressured and the pair watched as the terror and despair casted on his parents as they fought for allegiance for the Dark Lord, yet through it all the twins vowed to stick together.

_‘Semper Simul’ – Always Together._


	2. Sixth Year

“What did you just say to me?”

Nova let out a gasp, a slight squeal running through it, at the accusation made by her best friend. Blaise and she had been wandering around the castle, something they had been doing often together since arriving back at school. Term had not officially started yet so the only students who were here were those who had not gone home for summer, alongside their friends. The two knew the castle well, known for getting into harmless mischief together in their first few years of Hogwarts. The early memories made Nova smiled softly, the pair settling down dramatically as the years had gone on but their curiousness of their second home was just as wonderous.

“I said you’d make a good Ravenclaw” Blaise replied, a smug look in his eyes as he watched Nova’s reaction, “You got the brains, and the blue would really match your eyes”

Nova groaned, her brains and blue eyes being a simple addition to her character, nothing worth changing her house for, “I will hex you Zabini, try me” 

Blaise let out a deep howl of laughter as the two entered the Great Hall for dinner, causing a few other students to glance in their direction, including those of their friends. Nova elbowed Blaise softly in the ribs, shutting him up promptly as the scowl the rest of the school were so used to seeing settled back on her features.

“What took you both so long?” Pansy asked, grabbing more food off the table ahead of her. She slid slightly to the left on the bench, allowing Nova to settle down next to her. Blaise sat opposite, next to Theo, not waiting more than a second to help himself to the food ahead of them.

“Nova asked me to help her with her Dark Arts essay” Blaise replied as he stuffed what Nova guessed to be a chicken wing into his mouth, “You know she needs all the help she can get”

Nova rolled her eyes, neither Pansy nor Theo believing Blaise’s comical lie. Nova was one of the smartest in their year, alongside her brother and a couple other students not worth mentioning, so the prospect of her ever-needing help with her homework was near what impossible.

“Tell that to my Outstanding grade” she shot back with a smirk on her face, further highlighting Blaise for his blatant lie, “And your measly ‘Acceptable’” she added in victory

“Yeah, mate going for either of the Malfoy’s grades isn’t the best route to go down” Theo commented with a subtle laugh, “They were probably off galivanting around the castle as usual”

“Talking of Malfoy, is your twin going to grace us with his presence this evening Noves?” Pansy asked with the same judgemental, slightly patronising look she always wore on her face, “Or at all this school year?”

“Haven’t seen Draco since yesterday and even then, he seemed out of” Theo responded though Nova knew Pansy’s question was directed at her, “Everything okay at the Manor, Noves?”

“Of course.” She replied keeping her head down slightly, focusing on the food she had put on her plate moments ago. _Who knew peas could be so interesting?_ “Draco’s fine. Probably just a bit stressed with school, you all know our Father has high expectations for him”

No one replied after that. Home was always a touchy subject for the Malfoy twins, especially Nova who had considered Hogwarts her escape from the dark walls of the Manor she grew up in. She often chose to completely shut her mind off from her home life until she could not anymore, never realising how detrimental this had been for her development and growth. She also did not want to admit that Draco had been acting out of the ordinary. It had always been clear that Nova was the more social one out of the pair, more excepting to those around them, but Draco would always try with his friends, and Nova – she noted. He had been distant since they had returned to Hogwarts, ever since the conversation with their Father. 

They both disappeared one night, Nova remembering how they were gone for hours. She watched the clock tick back and forth for what felt like an eternity, her Mother told her not to worry but the pair always had a weird recollection when the other was in trouble. The feeling stopped her sleeping for days. When they finally returned Draco was paler than usually and looked like he was going to be sick any moment. He simply went straight to his room the moment he stepped out of the Floo, he would not speak to Nova, nor their Mother, at all about the reason, shutting her out completely when she attempted to ask him what was wrong. Nova remembered the feeling of somewhat betrayal, he had never hidden anything from her before, _until this._

“You’ll both do amazingly” Pansy spoke after a few minutes, breaking the silence and giving Nova a small nudge as she did. Pansy held a tough façade; she was cruel to most except her friends. She had taken on a motherly role with Nova the last few years, something Nova had grown quite accustomed too. “You’re the smartest pair in the year”

“Besides the Mudblood” a voice corrected

“Theo” Nova sighed, “No need to bring that into it”

Theo grumbled ahead of her, Blaise rolling his eyes. Nova recognised that her and her friends were all extremely fortunate Witches and Wizards to be born into families of wealth and blood purity. Nova would never speak it aloud, but she had always admired Hermione Granger, she was a Muggle-born yet still one of the brightest Witches of their age, some may say the best. She also did not like the word Mudblood, it reminded her of home and how her Father spat it out in any conversation about, in his words, the enemy. She spoke it once, in second year and was immediately taken into a two-hour conversation with McGonagall about how inappropriate and cruel it was. _She had not spoken it since._

The four all finished eating quickly and returned to the Slytherin common room. They had all collectively decided to return to school a few days before the term started so they could spend some time together before Pansy and Nova buried their noses in their textbooks and not lift their heads until Christmas break. Their parents were noticeably confused as to why the group wanted to get to school quicker than usual, besides Theo’s Father who had no regard for when school began or ended. Blaise told his Mother he was coming back early for Quidditch training while Pansy and Draco had said it was Prefect duties and it was not a surprise to the Malfoy’s that where Draco went, Nova wished to follow. 

Upon arriving to the common room, everyone pounced onto the sofas as Nova headed towards the stairs to the dorms, informing them quickly she was going to change out of her robes. Nova smiled as she entered, noticing their dorm had been cleaned since this morning, something she was not sure would happen since it was not technically term time yet. The four-poster beds were covered in the green silk hangings alongside the green eiderdowns with green curtains that had been neatly straightened. The silver lanterns hung from the ceiling, the room glowing with an icy, white artificial light. Whenever Nova entered her dorm, she always took a moment to listen to the lake water splashing against the windows that surrounded the room before proceeding with the task she had come in to do. The water was her favourite sound.

She showered quickly, putting on a pair of sleep shorts and vest before throwing on top one of Blaise’s old quidditch jumpers or it could be Draco’s, she was not sure – they end up everywhere. 

“Nova, look who we found lurking!” Theo called as she made her way back down to the common room

Nova may as well have been staring into a mirror, ahead of her stood the pale skin and white, blonde hair that matched her own. The only difference between the pair were the eyes, while Draco had their Father’s pale grey eyes Nova had inherited their Mother’s lighter, blue ones. It was the only physical thing, besides their gender, that set them apart.

Draco looked different though, Nova noticed, worse than he was when she last saw him. He looked thinner, probably from all the meals he had been skipping, his face shrinking in on itself and his bones sticking to the surface. He also had a dark, purple bruise on the back of his neck. It was not noticeable unless you were really looking for it, it was mainly covered by his shirt collar. It meant he had seen their Father.

_“You okay?”_

Draco’s head snapped up when he ‘heard’ her question. She was speaking to him through his mind, invading his thoughts as she had done for years. Growing up, the twins had chosen to ‘speak’ to one another wordlessly, it stopped them getting in trouble so much at home.

_“I’m fine”._

Draco shut his mind off to then, his skill in Occlumency showing. Nova was not as skilled as her brother in that department but her power in Legilimency was stronger, they both knew this, and she could break through the constructs of his mind if she really put my energy into it, but Nova decided not to, reminding herself that Draco would tell her whatever was going on when he was ready too. 

“Are you two ever going to stop talking through your bloody minds” Pansy sighed as her head flit back and forth between the twins before she collapsed on the sofa ahead of her, “Feels like I’m intruding”

Nova chuckled lightly as she made her way more into the common room, settling herself on the sofa in between Pansy and Blaise. Theo and Draco were sat on the loveseat next to their left. “Sorry Pans, it’s a habit”

It was quiet for a moment, the four friends exchanging glances as Draco stared softly off into the distance. It was as if they were all looking at Nova for an answer, or to make the first move, it was expected, he was her brother after all.

“So, you going to tell us where you’ve been Draco?” Blaise spoke up, finally breaking the silence and voicing the question we had all been internally thinking

Looking at Draco now it was easy to believe that nothing had been said, he slumped back further into the sofa focusing closely on the burning fire ahead of him. It was not for a few moments until he snapped his head around to face them, a lazy smirk nestled into his features. “Miss me that much Blaise?” 

“More worried for you mate” Blaise admitted after another few moments of silence

Draco paled at the statement, if that was possible, flinching slightly before letting the frown return to his face, “I’ve just been busy, I’m fine”

There was that phrase again – I’m fine. Draco was always fine; Nova was always fine. 

_Neither ever were._

“Can you guys believe we made it to Sixth Year?” Theo announced, changing the subject from Draco. Nova noticed Draco discreetly pat Theo’s shoulder, as an almost thank you for removing him as topic of conversation. She did not mind though, if she sat any straighter, she was sure her back would snap, the tension in the room deafening. 

“I can actually” Pansy replied coolly, lifting her legs off of the floor and spreading them across Nova’s lap as she leaned back into the arm of the sofa, “Well, I can believe the Malfoy’s and I did, Blaise and you I’m not quite sure”

Laughter erupted in the room at this, Blaise swishing his wand slyly sending a cushion from the sofa in Pansy’s direction, merely missing Nova in the process. 

“Gonna work harder this year” Blaise said casually throwing his arm around the back of the sofa, his hand landing on Nova’s shoulder causing a smile to form on her lips as she leant into him. “Mum wants my grades up, focused too much on Quidditch last year”

“You should do better now Snape’s leading Dark Arts” Pansy added from the other end of the sofa, “And you might actually get into potions this year, Slughorn’s dropped the entry grades”

“Nah, he’ll do better now he’s taken practically the exact same lessons as Miss Malfoy over here” Theo spoke. Nova could recognise the smirk in it without even needing to look at his face.

Nova lifted her head off Blaise’s shoulder to face him, “You did not?”

Blaise joined in with Theo’s laugher and even Draco crack a smile at the confession, “You’re the best in the year at literally everything! I want to play Quidditch, but mum said no team would hire me if I did shit in school. We can study together”

“I study in the library” she told him, “On my own” 

“Hmm” Blaise replied, “We’ll see about that.”

The five stayed in the common room chatting until the late evening, Pansy informing them all they should all have an early night for the first day of term tomorrow. Nova stood up first and said goodnight to the boys as they headed towards their separate dorms. Pansy, luckily, was particularly good at taking hints and did not think twice when she saw Nova loitering at the bottom of the hallway, telling her she would be quick in the bathroom as she went to bed. 

Nova waited there until Draco came out, taking his time to leave the common room as he always did. He had a habit of checking everything was intact before he went to sleep, the boys often called him out for it, but Nova knew it was something he had saw that Father do so much growing up. Unfortunately, another aspect of himself that had rubbed off on his son. Draco noticed her almost immediately, huffing as he attempted to slip past her towards his dorms.

“Please stop ignoring me” Nova sighed reaching out to grab hold of her brother’s wrist. He flinched at the action, shaking her small hand promptly from her grasp, “Talk to me, Draco. What’s going on?”

“I’m not ignoring you” he insisted. He had a look in his eye that reminded Nova of their Father. She hated that he was becoming more like him everyday and there was nothing she could do to stop it. “I cannot tell you what’s going on so please stop asking, I don’t want to lie to you”

“Draco, I can see the bruise on your neck” she pointed out, the purple hue wrapping itself around the back of his neck leading down towards his left shoulder, Nova guessed. “And I know Father is crafty so I would not be surprised if there were more hidden under your shirt. Has something happened at the Manor, do we need to go home?”

“No!” he snapped, spinning round to face his sister quickly. She had never seen him move to fast, quick to shut her request down, “Home is the last place you need to be right now. You need to be here, where you’re safe”

“Safe?” she asked in confusion, “What do you mean by safe? What’s happened at the Manor?”

“Mother and Father are fine” Draco informed her. She was not sure why, her parent’s safety was something she never cared for, her Father had never cared for hers and her Mother turned a blind eye on almost everything that was to do with her children. Draco was here and besides slight injury and malnourishment he looked safe, that was all she had ever cared about, “But the Manor is a dark place to be right now. Just please trust me when I say I will tell you as soon as you need to know, nothing I tell you now will benefit you or me in anyway”

She nodded in defeat, half agreeing with him but half grateful he was actually speaking to her, “I trust you. I’ll stop asking”

He sighed in relief, “Thank you. Now, go to bed, school starts tomorrow”

She rolled her eyes in response, fully aware that school started tomorrow. She took another glance at her brother, sighing at the reflection that stared back at her, “You’re meeting us all tomorrow morning for breakfast, no excuses, whatever you’re doing is killing you. You look like shit”

“Thanks Nova” he groaned before bidding her a prompt goodnight and disappearing towards the boy’s dormitories. Nova sighed as turned and walked towards her own dorm, Pansy being ready in her bed as she did.

“Everything alright?” she asked, noticing Nova’s persistent huffing and puffing as she got ready for bed

Everyone knew that Draco’s and Nova’s business was not something to get involved in, so their friends were often very apprehensive when approaching the subject. However, Pansy was always on hand and ready to talk whenever Nova needed to and being the only girl in their friendship group, besides the Malfoy twin, they both often went to each other for advice.

“Besides my brother being a pain in the arse?” Nova replied as she climbed into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin and focusing her stance on the ceiling above “Yep, everything is glowing”

“When is Draco not being a pain in the arse?” Pansy replied, Nova nodded in agreement although she would not be able to see that. It was silent before she spoke again, “Want to go get drunk tomorrow night?”

“Absolutely not” Nova replied, a humorous tone in the under layers of her voice, “It’s the first day of term, we can the end of the week though”

“Deal”.

Nova knew Sixth Year was going to be challenging but the workload already felt like a smack in the face and she had only been to one lesson. Draco failed to meet the group for breakfast that morning, Theo informing them all he had risen early and left their dorm without even a goodbye. Nova had, of course, worried about him throughout breakfast but pushed him to the back of her mind as she went to her first class, if he wanted to ruin his education that was up to him, but she promptly decided that his actions were not going to affect hers.

Blaise had joined her for her first free period of the day in the library. It started off well but as predicted he got bored halfway through, inviting Theo to join them both and decided instead of studying, he would accompany Theo in using the hour as blissful relaxation. Fortunately, Nova was good at blocking people out so although Blaise and Theo did not get much done in the free period, she was happy with herself as she managed to get halfway through the essay Snape had set in the first lesson of the day.

“You’re a different breed” Theo commented as the trio left the library for their next class, “I’ve never seen you study before”

“Believe it or not Theo, I’ve never seen you study before either, oh wait –” she trailed off, a sly grin on her face. The boys burst out in laughter – Theo had never studied a day in his life.

“And that’s why you’re getting Outstanding grades and I’m failing” Theo agreed, swinging an arm around her shoulder casually.

Nova leaned into Theo slightly as they walked, thinking of a different life where they could be more than friends. It was blatantly obvious that Pansy and Theo fancied each other, and Nova had never seen Theo as more than an annoying, comical addition to their friendship group, but it was more the choice she could have had. Coming from a line of Pureblood’s, she knew marriage was not something she could mess around with yet decide for herself. She thought growing up that Theo would be an ideal choice for her in her Father’s eyes, but he had made it clear that he had greater plans for his daughter than to be married to the son of a Death Eater. Nova knew that Draco, as the Malfoy heir, would get the estate and everything that inhabited it but her parents had assured her that she would not be disappointed with her fate, whatever it was had already been decided for her anyways she would just have to wait and see.

Nova bid farewell to both boys before as she watched them disappear down the corridor and made her my way towards Potions. She usually had this class with Draco but after disappearing this morning she knew he would be skipping; Blaise had also joined up for this class but had a Quidditch meeting ahead of their game this week, so he had been excused. 

“Good morning everyone!” Professor Slughorn announced as everyone drifted their way into the classroom, “Welcome to Potions!”

Nova decided to take a seat at one of the back desks, no one sitting next to her thankfully. As a Malfoy she had grown to have a reputation, and due to that, no one besides the immediate friend group ever chose to associate with her willingly, not that her nor her twin ever complained.

“Your brother not joining us today Ms. Malfoy?” Slughorn asked as he looked at her desk. The class had filled up, causing the rest of the class to turn towards her in wonder with the only seat left vacant sat besides her 

“Not sure Sir” she replied in a blank tone, using her wand to create small flicks of light in boredom, “We may be twins but we’re not joint at the hip”

_We used to be._

“Very well, right class –” Slughorn was cut off as the door burst open changing the point of focus away from Nova. In stumbled Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. “Ah, Harry my boy, I've been beginning to worry. You brought someone with us, I see” 

“Ron Weasley, Sir. But I'm dead awful at Potions. A menace actually, so I'm probably just gonna –”

Slughorn cut him off, “Nonsense, we'll sort you out. Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine. Get your books out”

Nova rolled her eyes. Of course, Slughorn would be obsessed with Harry Potter, half of the wizarding world was obsessed with him, he was the Chosen One but friend, really? _How inappropriate._

“I'm sorry, Sir” Harry spoke standing her the door awkwardly, the red headed friend of his stood behind him in cover. She noted that the pair were together almost as much as her and Draco, along with Hermione Granger who was already seated at the front of the class. “I haven't actually got my book yet, Ron either”

Nova rolled her eyes. She knew the Weasley family was not made of money, something her Father often liked to point out when their name was brought up as a Pureblood family, but Ron had a lot of siblings and she was sure one of them must have taken Potions before. Harry was also dangerously rich, something that was not obvious in the way he liked to present himself, so why was he showing up to class without a book either?

Slughorn smiled once again, ushering them away, “Cupboard at the back, get what you want. Now class, I have been potion making, any idea which this is?”

He motioned for everyone to come closer to the cauldron on his desk. Nova, as well as every other student in the class got up to follow his instruction – that was besides Harry and Ron who were still scrabbling their way through the back cupboard.

As Nova predicted, Hermione’s hand shot up, “It is Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world. It is rumoured to smell differently to each person according to what attracts them. For example, I smell –” she paused, “Freshly mown grass and new parchment and – Spearmint toothpaste”

Nova smirked lightly at the confession, Hermione’s blush deepening as sniggers filled the class.

“Now Amortentia doesn't create actual love, that would be impossible” Slughorn corrected, “But it does cause powerful infatuation or obsession”

“Sir, you haven't told us what's in that one” a voice piped up

Slughorn looked in the direction of the finger point, “Oh yes. What you see before you, ladies, and gentlemen, is a curious little potion, known as Felix Felicis. But it is more commonly known referred to as –”

“Liquid luck”

_Granger, again._

“Yes, Ms Granger. Liquid luck” Slughorn smiled, “Desperately tricky to make, disastrous should you get it wrong so that is what we will be doing today and if you succeed you will win this exact vile –”

Slughorn was once again cut off by the door swinging open. Nova suddenly felt for the poor man, _please just let him teach._ Stood at the doorway was the mirror, male, reflection of Nova herself. His hands shoved deep into his front pocket as he walked in as if the lesson had not already begun.

“Ah, Mr Malfoy” Slughorn beamed, “What a pleasure for you to finally join us”

Nova narrowed her eyes at him as he entered the room, standing on the opposite side of the classroom. When he refused to make eye contact with her, she sighed.

_‘Is this to do with the thing I promised not to ask about anymore?’_

He nodded, not even looking in her direction.

She felt conflicted but decided to leave it, recalling the promise she had made him that she would. Nova, however, did not have time to think too much into the issue anyways, Slughorn gathering the class closer around his desk.

“Right, everyone let us continue. I did not lower the admission grades for this class to accept failure, I did it because I love Potions and I want you all to also” Slughorn announced, “So I am going to put you into pairs, we will rotate them when I feel the need to do, so we get the best grades out of all of you”

Nova let out a huff. _She hated pair work._

“Mr Potter, you’ll be with Ms Malfoy” Slughorn continued, “Hopefully her studiousness will rub off on you”

“My sisters intelligence isn’t some prize you can hand out” Draco voiced, the hatred he held for Harry clear in his voice

“Draco” Nova sighed, ignoring the glances the rest of the class had towards her, “It’s fine, leave it”

Draco sent Nova a scowl, one in which she returned, before gathering up her stuff and walking over to Harry’s desk, thinking putting as much distance between her brother and the Chosen One as possible was good idea. They all listened in silence as the rest of the pairs were called out, Draco thankfully being placed with another Slytherin. 

“Recipes for the potion can be found on page ten of your books” Slughorn announced once everyone was paired up, “Good luck to you all. Let the brewing commence”

“Do you enjoy Potions?” a voice asked from Nova’s left. It was Harry’s voice and Nova huffed quietly under her breath. She had to give it to him for attempting to create conversation with her, she knew she was not the most approachable person especially when Draco was nearby. 

“It’s okay, I guess” she told him, feeling slightly awkward herself. It was then she realised that she had not had to make small talk since she joined Hogwarts, the four people she considered her friends being the only people she spoke to, and teachers of course. But Nova did appreciate his effort, she hated awkward silence, especially seeing as it felt as if it had been following her around for the last few days. “Not my favourite but there’s worse. I still need to get Outstanding though so you better not slack”

Harry nodded with a subtle smile. “I quite like Potions even though I’m not good at it. I think we’ll make a good team”

“Yeah, okay Potter” she rolled my eyes once more, not interested in the commentary, “Get the equipment so we can start”

Harry nodded his head at her before turning towards the back of the classroom to receive what they would need to make the potion. While he was gone, Nova took a moment to look at Draco, he had not moved from his desk on the other side of the room, his head down and he seems unbothered. He seemed like a completely different person from what he was last year, Nova remembered he had always been studious but now it looked like he could not care less if he failed. 

_Maybe he had something more important on his mind?_

Harry returned quickly and the pair worked in silence as they set up what they needed. Nova flicked her textbook to the correct page, Harry copying her actions, before she quickly skimmed the recipe, frowning as she looked at the instructions. 

“It does not make sense to cut the sopophorous bean, we should cru–” Harry cut her off

“Crush them” he spoke the words straight from her mouth, referencing his own textbook as he did, “We should crush them”

“Yes” she paused in confusion as she turned to face Harry. Most students followed textbooks thoroughly but Nova being Nova took care in not only extra reading but how the practically of what was likely to happen when performing a spell or potion. It was what set her intelligence aside from most students, while they could read books cover to cover, they would never quite know what would happen until they did it, something Nova had often already done. “I thought you were shit at potions?”

“I didn’t say shit” he defended, “But I found this book, in the back of Slughorn’s cupboard”

He slid the battered looking textbook in her direction, open to the correct page and littered with notes around the edges. The ingredients list had been altered, words scribbled out and replaced to completely modify the recipe. It looked a mess, Nova noted, but amongst everything it seemed to make sense.

“Whose is this?” she asked, skimming the contents

“No clue” Harry replied, “What do you think though? You’re the clever one, should we follow it?”

“I understand why it’s be altered to be this, much more than my own” she confessed as she continued to read, “What they’ve written adds up, I’m happy to take the risk”

“Really?”

“I’ve never failed a class in my life Potter” she chuckled, “If this goes wrong, I can blame you and easily get away it. So, crush away”

Harry and Nova won the ‘potion making contest’, not that it was a particularly difficult task. The only person they had to look out for was Hermione and hers was doomed from the beginning, most probably because she followed the recipe that was errored in so many ways. Harry accepted the potion from Slughorn proudly, returning to the desk he and Nova had been working on together with it outstretched towards her.

“You keep it” she told him simply, closing her own textbooks which she had made her own notes on throughout the class, “It was your notes that made the potion work so well, it’s only fair”

“Didn’t know the Malfoy’s knew what fair was” Harry replied with a slight smirk settled on his lips.

Nova furrowed her brows at Harry’s confidence around her. Nova was not a nice girl, not quite as bad or as arrogant as her brother, but she preferred to keep herself to herself and not interfere with anyone else’s, often pointless, lives. She quickly worked out that Harry had become comfortable around her, from the one class they had worked together in, and she was not quite sure why.

“Nova, let’s go” Draco called from the doorway, snapping Nova out of her wonder, the same scowl set on his face as it was the beginning of class

“It’s nothing to do with being fair Potter” she replied, gripping her books to her chest holding the same smirk that was on his face, “I do not need the luck, I’m a powerful witch, whereas you, you live off luck. You’d be dead without it”.

By the time night full took over the castle, Pansy and Nova found themselves sat in the common room; it was quiet with only a few students littering around. They had seated themselves in the corner, wrapped up in blankets and sipping tea as they filled each other in about their days. Pansy and Nova were both extremely intelligent Witches but differed hugely in the subjects that they preferred often meaning they did not see each other much throughout the school day.

“You got paired with Potter?” Pansy asked, sipping on her tea as she did, “Merlin, I feel sorry for you”

“Honestly, there is no need” Nova replied, “Potter’s like a dog, does exactly what you ask”

Pansy laughed at her comparison as Nova looked at the clock, realising it had gone six o’clock, she and Pansy had been sat chatting since dinner, they even rushed dinner so they could have some girl time, but now it was time for Nova to return to the library, her little sanctity of peace.

“I should go” Nova spoke, placing the cup and saucer on the small table besides her, “I need to finish that essay for Snape”

“You need to give yourself a break Nova, that essay was only set this morning” Pansy instructed, the motherly tone taking hold of her voice once more “You’re going to burn yourself out before you even start”

“I will not sleep unless it is done today, you know what I am like” Nova replied. She was telling the truth, many nights throughout the years she had found herself in bed in pure panic at the thought of forgetting about an essay only for her friends to find her slouched in the common room asleep, quill and parchment in hand the next morning, “Besides, do you not have a prefect meeting now?”

Pansy scowled suddenly, looking up at the clock set on the Slytherin wall before she jumped up, spilling her tea in the process, “Shit. You’re right, Merlin what would I do without you?”

“Good thing you will never have to find out” Nova laughed as Pansy leaned down, giving her a quick side hug before she ran out of the common room.

Once she had gone, Nova took her wand and conjured a spell onto the blankets causing them to neatly fold themselves on the edge of the sofa the girls had just been sat on before she zapped the cups away. Happy with her tidying, Nova went up to the dorm to quickly grab her essay and textbook before making her way down to the library. Unfortunately, upon arrival she noticed she was not the only person here, Harry was sat in the corner of the room aimlessly flicking his way through a textbook. She took a seat on one of the desks closest to the door, the squeak of the chair causing him to look up.

She settled quickly and finished the essay Snape had set this morning. It did not take her long as it was simply a refresher essay to get their brains ready for the year ahead. Once she had finished the essay, she moved onto the next essay, also set by Snape. This was not due until next week, but Snape had released the essay title early to herself and a few other Slytherins, there was a Quidditch game the end of this week which Nova had promised Blaise she would attend so she wanted to get this essay done. Nova had not been to a Quidditch game for as long as she could remember, the sport never having interested her. Blaise and Draco were both on the Quidditch team and often complained at Pansy and Nova for not supporting their games so, the girls made a pact that they would both try and go to as many games as they could this year, especially as Blaise wanted to go pro.

She heard shuffling from the side of her, glancing up as she felt a presence come closer to her. “How did you know about the potion?” a voice questioned from the right of Nova, making her jump. She looked up to see Harry stood there, dressed in his robes, and clutching the tattered textbook under his arm.

Nova rolled her eyes, “What are you talking about Potter?” 

“Today, in Slughorn’s class” he repeated, “You knew to crush the sopophorous bean?”

“Crushing the bean is a more simple and effective method of obtaining the juice, it does not take a genius to work that out”, she replied, growing annoyed that someone had interrupted her from her precious study time, “Anything else? I am busy”

“Yeah – any idea of the Half-Blood Prince is?”

“Not sure if you’ve heard but my family do not associate with Half-Bloods” Nova snapped, “So no, I have no idea. Now fuck off and play princesses somewhere else”.

He stood for a moment as if he wanted to say something else, when he decided not to, he huffed and spun back on himself, leaving the library altogether. Nova smiled to herself, content she finally had the room to herself so she could finish her essay. However, while the first essay Snape had set was a simple sum up of the Unforgiveable Curses and required almost no reference to her notes, the second was an in-depth research and analysis of a dark creature of their choice. Nova decided on a Gytrash. 

Nova was almost finished by the time curfew had hit. She returned the books she had been using for research to the relevant bookshelves before gathering her things and getting ready to leave. Draco and Pansy were the Slytherin prefects, so she was not too concerned about being caught, that was until she bumped into a familiar Gryffindor face.

Nova sighed, “Granger”

“It’s past curfew” Hermione replied, a snotty look of authority in her eyes, “You shouldn’t be exploring the castle at this time”

Nova gave a dry, humorous laugh, “Exploring? I have lived at this castle for the last six years of my life, what the fuck would I be exploring?” she paused, “Chamber of Secrets, perhaps?”

Hermione narrowed her eyes Nova at her mocking. Nova and Blaise always explored the castle.

“Night Granger” Nova called with a smirk. She swiftly turned and walked away, knowing she had won this battle. “Do not let the Basilisk bite”.


	3. The Accident

“You’re joking?” Blaise signed, the irritation clear in both his tone and his features

“I’m just passing the message on mate” Theo replied, “Malfoy said he wasn’t feeling well, buggered off before breakfast, as usual, and haven’t seen him since”

“This is fucking ridiculous” Blaise shouted, his strength of his voice making Nova flinch slightly from where she was seated on the sofa ahead of them.

The four were in the common room, it was Saturday and the first Quidditch game of the term. It was Slytherin vs Gryffindor, so it was a big game. Pansy and Nova were bundled up in their winter robes and green scarfs while Blaise and Theo stood before them, Blaise in his Quidditch uniform and Theo looking similarly layered to the girls. Draco had conjured another disappearing act which although would have been annoying, would have not been much of a problem if he were not the Slytherin team’s seeker. So, now it was chaos.

“You have Harper” Nova voiced up causing Blaise to shoot his eyes at her, “I mean at least you have a replacement”

“Harper is nothing compared to Malfoy, you don’t know shit Nova” Blaise practically spat, “Next time you see you brother tell him to sort his fucking priorities out”.

Pansy turned to face Nova abruptly as Nova’s faced began to crumble. It was rare anyone spoke to the young Malfoy like that, especially her best friend, but it was usually only because she was in the company of Draco or her Father and no one would dare speak out of line in their presence. Theo shoved Blaise roughly at his outburst, grabbing him by his shoulder and pushing him out of the common room, telling him to calm down as they exited. 

Pansy moved slightly closer to Nova on the sofa, grasping her hand in hers in comfort. Nova had not noticed she was shaking slightly from Blaise’s words until Pansy did this. She quickly blinked the tears from her eyes before they had the chance to fall.

“I rarely see him” Nova confessed in reference to Draco, “And when I do, he refuses to talk to me about anything, especially what is going on inside his head”

“Let us not worry about that now” Pansy reassured her, “Blaise is acting like a big baby, he’ll be fine once this game is won. We can sort the Draco mess out after”

Nova nodded in agreement, slight agreement at such. She had promised Draco she would not investigate his whereabouts, and the reason for it, anymore but she knew now she had to speak to him, their friends were beginning to get suspicious and it was not something she would be able to keep to myself forever.

_Were the teachers going to question her next?_

Pansy and Nova waited a few more minutes before the pair made their way towards the Quidditch pitch and into the stands. Due to Pansy’s fear of heights – something that was not discussed – the girls decided to seat ourselves as low as we could on the stands. However, the wind was bitter today and although they casted warming charms, neither Pansy nor Nova were used to this type of environment, spending most of their free time in the warmth of the library or common room. 

Theo, who was met at the stands, became annoyed with their constant complaining so he led the girls down to the pitch. Technically it was against the rules to stand here but Theo took them into a small nook in the side of the pitch, it was practically a hole in a wall fitted with a small wooden bench. It was a tight squeeze for the three of them, Theo informing them it was created years ago as a hook up spot, but it sheltered the howl the wind and gave them front row, literally, seats to the match.

They all watched as both Slytherin and Gryffindor players came out of their respective zones, the crowds cheering as they did. Nova’s focus was on Blaise as he carelessly made his way across the field, he was vision of confidence. Her gaze then wondered across the rest of the players, landing, unfortunately, on Harry and Ron, who were casually stood chatting at the other side of the pitch, dressed proudly in their own red colours.

_Had Potter always looked that good in Quidditch uniform?_

Nova suddenly felt sick at the confession her inner self had made, telling herself quickly that Potter was anything but attractive. She managed to make most of the game without looking at him too much, stealing quick glances when no one was looking – to ensure that her previous attraction was a mistake – but mainly kept her focus on Blaise and the other Slytherins, cheering when she should and keeping silent when she should. She tried to shake off the feeling of Harry getting under her skin, the game would be ending soon, but when she could no longer ignore it masking her brain, she bid her friends a quick goodbye as she squeezed out of the alcove they were in with intent of returning to the common room.

“Nova, wait!”

It happened so quickly, part of Nova was not even sure what had exactly happened, she heard a distant shout, felt a woosh of warm wind and suddenly she was wrapped into the side of Theo, his arm holding her tightly against him protectively. Above them, on his broomstick sat Harry clutching one of the bludger’s tightly in his hands staring directly at Nova, his breath, like Nova’s was laboured and he seemed frozen in the air. Behind him, the Slytherin team were cheering, crowding around the one player of their team who could grasped a golden glow in his own fingertips. _The snitch._

The crowd suddenly erupted, green scarfs and various pieces of uniform being throw into the air in celebration. Nova’s own focus stayed stuck on Harry, staring at him as if the last few minutes had not occurred.

“Nova” the familiar voice of Theo shouted, snapping her out of whatever trance she had previously been in, “What are you doing? You could have been hit?”

“I…Theo –” she turned once again towards Harry to see he had disappeared

“Let us get you inside” Theo instructed pulling her cape tight and leading her away from the Quidditch pitch. 

Nova cursed silently to herself as Theo led her back to the Slytherin common room. Once she had assured him, she was okay she was ‘allowed’ to go and shower and change before the celebration began. Nova hated being in her school robes any longer than she had to be so she desperate to get them off, especially after what had just happened. She spent longer in the shower than she usually did, double shampooing her hair as she slowly waited for her heart rate to return back to normal.

_Why would Potter save her?_

_What would have happened if he did not?_

She had just gotten changed, a pair of sleep shorts and a jumper of Theo’s, when there was a knock at the door, “Nova, it’s me – are you okay?”

“You can come in!” she called as she sat down at the stool facing the mirror in the bathroom. Moments later Pansy walked in, also dressed in her cosy clothes. Pansy stood behind her wordlessly and took the towel off her head, taking her wand and drying it silently.

“I’m fine” Nova told her

“I did not ask if you were fine, you’re always fine” Pansy replied not even looking up from her concentration on her hair, “I asked if you were okay”

“I think so” Nova confessed understanding the difference in the words, “It all happened so quickly”

“For once in my life I think I could kiss Potter” Pansy sighed finally catching eye contact with Nova through the mirror. Nova scrunched up her face slightly at the mention of Pansy kissing Potter, causing her friend to burst into laughter. Nova’s stomach flipped slightly at the mention of Pansy and Potter together.  
_That did not feel natural._

Once Nova’s hair was dry, she and Pansy made their way down to the common room to find it already in the middle of celebrations. Slytherin banners were draped along the walls and it was filled with students, aimlessly chatting while the older students drank in victory of winning the first game of the year.

Nova’s eyes caught Blaise’s quickly, he was stood pacing the room while Theo sat on the sofa ahead of him, Fire Whiskey in hand. Blaise let out a breath when Nova smiled at him, marching over, and pulling her tightly into him when she was close enough. “M’sorry little one” he mumbled, releasing Nova, and flopping down on the sofa next to Theo, “M’shit best friend”

“No” Nova chuckled pushing Theo’s legs off the sofa so she could sit down also, “You’re just a dick sometimes. I forgive you though”

“And I should be thanking you” Blaise chuckled accepting the bottle of Fire Whiskey Theo held out for him, “Distracting Potter so we could grab the snitch, genius”

Nova sighed, “Everyone saw that?” 

“Merlin, Nova you really were in shock” Blaise chuckled, Theo joining in shortly, “The poor guy probably shattered his hand catching that thing, hard to miss”

She stood up abruptly from the sofa, “He broke his hand?”

Theo shrugged carelessly, “Probably. Pansy, want some?”

Pansy shook her head from the other sofa at Theo’s offering of another bottle of Fire Whiskey, holding up a small glass filled with what Nova guessed to wine. Theo nodded before turning back to make conversation with Blaise.

“I should go and check on him” Nova thought, not realising she had thought aloud until her three friends turned to face her

“Why?”

“Oh Theo, let her go, poor girl will not sleep tonight if she does not and I have to share a dorm with her” Pansy stated, a little laugh bubbling in her throat as she did. She took her wand, pointing it towards Nova and configuring a set of robes. “Be quick or you’ll have to catch up on the Whiskey”

Nova nodded at her, thanking her for changing her robes before rushing out of the common room, heading straight towards the hospital wing. When she arrived, she was slightly out of breath, taking a minute to catch it outside. She walked slowly into the hospital wing of the castle, most of the beds lay vacant and those which were occupied had the curtains drawn round them – _except one._ Harry was sat on the bed, dressed in a hospital gown clutching his hand that lay in a sling. Ron and Hermione were seated next to him, Ron still dressed in own red Quidditch uniform, Hermione’s scarf and hat discarded at the end of the bed.

“Ms Malfoy” Madam Pomfrey spoke, causing not only Nova to look in her direction, “I’ve been expecting you, come in”

Nova thanked her quietly, ignoring the fact she had been waiting for her to come, as she made her way towards Harry’s cot. Hermione’s, Ron’s and his attention was all on her as she did so. She stopped a few feet away, keeping her distance as much as her could. It felt inappropriate to go any closer.

“I just wanted to say thank you” Nova spoke softly feeling very awkward in the current moment, “I was not aware it had broken your hand; I would have come earlier”

“Rather celebrate your win, would you Malfoy?” Ron snapped in her direction and Nova had to refrain herself from snapping back. Something about Harry’s presence made her want to get the apology out properly, maybe it was because he was the Chosen One.

“Ron” Harry warned briefly taking his attention away from Nova for a moment, giving Ron a look before he turned back to face her, “It’s okay, I’m sure anyone would have done the same”

Ron grumbled something in audible before Hermione gasped muttering something back to him about the logistics of the bludger killing Nova if it had hit her, apparently it was quite high. Ron then rolled his eyes, telling Hermione to stop being so dramatic before informing her despite everything he would have not wanted to see Nova dead.

“It would be easier if I was” 

Two heads snapped up to face Nova, joining the one set of eyes that were already focused on her. Nova had not meant to say the confession aloud her mouth snapping shut at the confession. 

_“Nova”_

Nova almost cried out in relief at the voice calling her from the door, thanking Merlin himself for her brother’s overprotective, slightly obsessive attitude when it came to her safety and whereabouts in this moment.

“I must go” she croaked out, coughing lightly, “I hope your hand heals quickly”

She did not wait for Harry to reply as she swiftly turned and headed towards the voice at the door, bidding Madam Pomfrey goodnight as she did. Draco stood there, his hand sunk deep into his front pockets, with his regular scowl on his face. She followed him out of medical wing, keeping her head down as he walked slightly ahead of her.

“What do you think you are playing at?” Draco muttered

“Me? Says the one who has disappeared all day? Practically all term for that matter” Nova snapped, all the agitation from Ron’s earlier comment rising to the surface in that moment

“We promised we were not going to bring that up” he answered, pushing his hair back from his forehead as he did, “Do not try and take the attention away from you frolicking around with the Golden Trio”

“You really are turning into Father” Nova spat before she had time to think about what she was saying. She was good at insulting people, had been ever since she was small, she was spiteful and cruel, “I was not frolicking, I was thanking him for saving my bloody life, you complete and utter –”

“Malfoy’s!” Professor McGonagall called from the other side of the corridor as she made her way towards the pair, “It is past curfew, any reason you are both still wandering the corridors? Mr Malfoy, I know you are a prefect but Ms Malfoy, what is your reasoning?”

“Sorry Professor” Nova spoke, feeling the anger slowly sizzle down inside of her, “I wanted to thank Potter for catching the bludger today, I was not aware he had hurt himself in doing so”

“I was actually with Professor Snape, not doing prefect duties” Draco added in a matter-of-fact tone, “I left when I heard what had happened today, I assumed she would be here. I did not realise the time”

“Very well both of you, I will verify your stories with the appropriate teachers, but all adds up. Now, please head back to your dormitories” she instructed. The twins both nodded as they began to turn, “Oh, Ms Malfoy?”

“Yes, Professor?”

“Do not worry about Mr Potter, a simple spell will repair his hand” Professor McGonagall assured her, “Though, I would stay away from matches for the time being”

“I agree, Quidditch never has been my strong point” Nova smiled softly at her in which she returned, “Goodnight Professor”

She bid the pair both goodnight as they headed down the corridor towards the dungeons whilst she went towards the direction in which they had both come from, Nova guessed to check on Potter and send the other two to bed. 

The Malfoy’s walked for a moment together in silence before Nova turned to face her brother, “Will Snape cover for you?” 

“He will not need to” Draco responded flatly, “I’ve been with him all afternoon”

Nova nodded, vowing to herself to not bring it up. She had no intention of letting the subject go but if Draco also had no intention of telling her it would have to be something she discovered on my own, she decided. She also did not want to push him away any further than she already had.

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier” Nova confessed the outlook of her comment coming flooding back to her, “I’m just so angry all the time, it should not be an excuse, but I find it so difficult to bite my tongue”

Draco stopped and turned towards his sister, sighing as he grabbed the tops of her arms, squeezing them slightly, “You’re a Malfoy. It’s in our blood to be angry but I’m going to look after you okay?”

“Semper Simul” she whispered the promised they had made to one another when they were so young. A promise to always be together and protect one another from the darkness of their world

“Semper Simul” Draco agreed. 

The pair remained in silence for most of their walk back to the dungeons before the younger Malfoy sniffled, swallowing the lump in her throat, “You’re nothing like him, Father. I should not have said that” 

It was four years ago that the twins had discovered they both had the same Boggart – their Father. Though slightly different, Draco’s fear was in their Father’s disappointment while Nova’s struck in his raising his voice, the sentiment that the twins were both terrified of the man who raised them, who was supposed to love them, was all the same. _And Nova had just compared Draco to him._

“Is it true? Did Potter save your life?” Draco questioned, changing the subject away from their Father. Something she was always grateful for.

Nova nodded, “I walked on the Quidditch pitch and he stopped a bludger hitting me, he caught it and the impact broke his hand” 

“For once I’m thankful for that waste of space” Draco spat as the pair continued walking. 

There was not another word spoken between them as they made their way towards the dungeons. Once they arrived Nova had almost forgotten about the party, that was now in full swing. Theo spotted the pair first, shouting something about two for the price of one, as he made his way towards them, stumbling as he did. 

“I’m going to bed” Draco informed Nova, squeezing her arm in comfort before he disappeared towards the dorms, Nova turned to follow her brother to continue speaking to him. He had been chatty this evening, in Draco’s recent standards, and she thought she could possibly get some more information out him.

Theo grabbed her wrist before she had the chance too, Nova flinched slightly before relaxing immediately after seeing who it was, “Ah, no you don’t get to run off too Noves”

“You Theo Notts, are fucked” Nova giggled as Theo responded with sloppy smile

“Oh come on little one” a slightly less drunk Blaise grinned, appearing next to Theo clutching a bottle under his arm, “Theo here is going to pass out any minute, I need a new drinking partner and Pansy refused to start the hard stuff until you came back. Now, you going to join us or go upstairs and cry with Malfoy in his room?”

Nova took once last glance up to the dorms, where Draco had run off to, before sighing, “Hand me the Fire Whiskey”.

It took Nova arguably an impressive, or embarrassing, twenty-five minutes to finish the bottle of Fire Whiskey. Pansy had taken small sips here and there but most of the bottle had fallen into the welcome arms of the Malfoy girl. She was drunk. Right to Blaise’s predictions, Theo had passed out twenty minutes after Nova and Draco had returned. He was currently on the sofa, snoring, as no one had the energy to carry him up to his dorm and Pansy, who had slowed down in her drinking since, decided it was easier to keep an eye on him down here.

Blaise was stood at the other end of the common room speaking to Daphne Greengrass, who he had been seeing on a casual, non-exclusive basis for a few months now. Pansy was in no right mind to enjoy herself, fretting over Theo as she often did for the boy. That left Nova, swaying back and forth to herself as she perched herself on the arm of the sofa. She had changed back into her sleepwear shortly after she arrived back, wearing a pair of sleep shorts and another jumper belonging to one of the boys.

She was not sure if it was boredom or her intent to continue exploring the castle upon her last year at Hogwarts, Nova left the Slytherin common room. She often got restless when she drunk so she did not expect anyone to fret over her disappearance, however even in her state she knew that her brother and friends would kill her if she went outside alone at these hours so she decided to go to the top of the castle instead. Somehow in her drunken mindset she decided that watching the sun rise would be the perfect idea, though it had only just passed midnight and the sun would not rise for hours. She had discarded her jumper when she arrived at her spot, settling it down on the hard, concrete steps in some hopes of comfort. She slumped against the wall, sliding down it, as her alcohol induced body distracted her from the freezing temperatures that surrounded her. Her moments of peace, however, were disturbed by the sound of someone ahead of her.

“Potter” she spluttered as she spotted him a few steps below herself. He looked surprised to see her, or anyone for that matter, at this end of the castle this late. The sling he had on earlier had been removed and he now clutched a wand in his grasp, McGonagall was correct, a simple spell had repaired his hand. Nova grinned at him, “You have your hand back”

Harry stopped for a moment, folding his brows slightly as he stared at her, “Are you drunk?”

“Wasted” she corrected, “You’re no’suppose to be here, past curfew”

“I’m aware, I’m not a prefect but neither are you” he commented before adding, “Always surprised me that you did not get picked”

“Did” she slurred followed by a hiccup, “Didn’t wan’it. Father didn’t want me to hav’it”

“Let me walk your back to the dungeons” Harry requested, slowly inching his way up the steps, “After your comment earlier having you this close to the top of the Astronomy Tower is worrying”

“Draco said he’d throw himself off” Nova spoke recalling the memory of her brother stating so casually about the request. It had sent shivers down here spine when he first announced it, although it was a joke, she did not speak to him for days, “Didn’t understand at first, get it now”

Harry did not like the confession; he too felt the same shivers that unknown to him Nova had felt at the comment. He hated that he worried for the girl, especially when he had more important matters on his mind, but he could not help himself, even Ron had pointed out he was looking at the Malfoy girl differently recently. He stepped closer to her, watching as she flinched back slightly even in her drunken state before he shook his head. He waited again, only for a moment, before he reached his hand out to hook it around her, freezing suddenly.

“Your arm” Harry pointed out. If Nova was not so intoxicated, she may have found the whole situation embarrassing. In her removal of her jumper she was left in a simple t-shirt, she rarely wore short sleeves around anyone who was not already familiarised with the marks on my body, often putting a covering spell on before she did. Draco was the same, the marks he had almost identical to her own. Nova’s most prominent scar lay at the top of her left arm, wrapping around it in a deep red score, almost like a snake had clutched itself onto her existence.

Again, if Nova was not so drunk on Fire Whiskey, she may have clutched her arms around herself, doing anything to hide the constant reminder that she was not enough but instead she turned it slightly, showing it off like a prize possession of her own.

“I have had this for years, family heirloom shall we say?” she stated, flaunting the mark on her arm. Her speech had begun to turn back to normal, the alcohol seeping its way further into her body. This was usually when things went wrong, her speech always went first, then her balance before she passed out altogether.

“It looks familiar” Harry noted in response, “I’m sure –”

“Sirius” Nova interrupted, a hiccup following her confession at the mention of the man she had never seen as family herself, but Harry had, “You would have seen them on Sirius. My Father always admired the Black’s vision of tough love”

“Nova, that is not tough love” Harry replied taking a step towards her, reaching for her arm. Nova pushed him away before he had the chance, hiccupping again as the alcohol began bubbling in her stomach, “That’s torture”

“I don’t want your pity Potter” she snapped back, “Your parents are dead, you do not know what it is like to disappoint them”.

Over the few days that Nova and Harry had spoken he had become used to her insults. Draco had been naming calling him and his friends ever since they were first years, Nova however rarely had muttered a word to him until they were paired in potions. Harry realised it was because Nova’s insults were deeper, more personal and this was not something you could do until you spoke to someone properly rather than shouting affronts across a corridor.

“Right, come on. Time to get you back to where you belong” Harry announced, leaning over Nova and lifting her arm up to sling it over the back of his shoulder. She had lost most of the ability in her limbs now, the Fire Whiskey pushing its way around her blood stream. She mumbled a few more insults, lighter and more generic, some that even made Harry chuckle as he practically dragged the poor girl back to her common room.

As Harry did not know the Slytherin password and Nova was almost passed out cold, the Potter boy was left to awkwardly knock on the entrance to the common room. Hammering his fists he prayed that the party had begun to die a bit and someone who would not bite his head off would open the door. Luckily for him Blaise Zabini appeared, his furrowed brows relaxing when he immediately recognised the white, crisp hair of his best friend leaning on Harry’s shoulder.

“Where was she?” Blaise questioned as if it was not an odd thing for her to disappear in her current state. Harry was even slightly shocked at how casual Blaise looked over the whole situation, simply leaning forward to grab Nova by the waist and pull her towards him. Little did Harry know, the Slytherins were used to Nova wandering off drunk and alcohol had been a coping mechanism the whole friendship group used for when things went wrong. Things often went wrong for the Malfoys.

“Found her slumped in the hallway near the library” Harry lied. Him and Nova were not close, had rarely spoken, but he decided in that moment if he even had the smallest urge to jump off the top of the Astronomy Tower, he rather it was kept private.

Blaise glanced at Nova again, who was now leaning almost her whole weight onto him, and frowned, “You saw it”

Harry nodded.

“Her life – it’s _dark_ but we take good care of her” he replied. Blaise, nor Harry, were sure why he was disclosing this information – Nova was no regard to Harry at all – but she had done so well to hide the mark from almost everyone at the castle for years and Blaise wanted to keep his best friends secret as well as he could.

“It’s none of my business” Harry replied, “Just wanted to make sure she was back safe”

“Yeah, cheers” Blaise nodded. Harry waited a few moments before nodding back and turning away, heading back towards the Gryffindor tower. Blaise, having sobered up in the hour Nova had been gone, hooked his arms under his best friends’ legs and carried her up to her dorm, just as he had to Pansy ten minutes before.


	4. The Care of Gryffindor

Nova woke the next morning with a pounding headache, in fact she felt as if her mind had disintegrated around her. She was in bed, with no idea how or when she got there, dressed in the same sleep clothes she had worn to the party yesterday. Thankfully, Pansy woke up looking, and feeling by her regard, the exact same way. Both girls missed breakfast, not that they felt like they could stomach anything anyways. 

It took a few hours before the two girls could face the outside world: the common room quiet with most of the students recovering in their dorms. Blaise and Theo rarely suffered with hangovers, they had spent years, along with Draco, getting drunk in their room so their own tolerance was much higher than their female friends. 

Pansy had greeted the boys softly before promptly making her way to the sofa, curling herself up in the corner and falling swiftly back asleep. Blaise threw a blanket over her when he realised she had no intention of moving today. Nova was informing the boys that she had no memory of the previous evening, laughing when Theo had told her she went for a wander around the castle and Blaise had to have put her to bed like a child.

“It was actually Potter who brought you back” Blaise corrected them. Nova and Theo were both under the impression that Blaise had either followed or found her to bring her back to the common room, not Harry. “Found you passed out in some back corridor of the castle, has a habit of saving you recently”

She paused for a moment, attempting to reveal the memory which had occurred only the previous evening. She remembered pieces, murmured voices, and blurred faces but the actual events which had taken place lay a mystery in her mind.

“You want a slice of the Chosen One, Noves?” Theo called snapping her out of her daydream, whistling promptly after until Nova threw a cushion at him

“Will you shut up; my head is banging” she hissed causing Theo to laugh in response before he leant his head into a sleeping Pansy’s shoulder.

Nova grumbled to herself as she fiddled with the bottom of her dress, unlike Pansy she had things to do today so had forced herself to get dressed before she came down – a simple black long sleeve dressed and tights to keep her comfortable. 

“You should go and talk to him” Blaise spoke suddenly from the side of her. He was reading the Daily Prophet, avoiding eye contact with his best friend as she turned further to face him

“Who?”

“Potter” Blaise responded, lifting his eyes slightly above the paper to glance in her direction, “He saw the scar on your arm, I dunno what you said to’im but you know he runs off to Dumbledore after every minor incident”

Nova felt her blood run cold slightly, her stomach dropping and a shiver shooting up her spine, “It’s none of his business”

“Exactly the words he told me last night” Blaise agreed, “But do you trust them?”

She went to the Great Hall first, hoping to catch him if he had stayed behind after breakfast but to her luck he was not there. She was nervous, Blaise’s word sticking in her mind. If word got back to Dumbledore about what occurred to her whilst she was at home, she knew she would be in trouble, not with Dumbledore himself but her parents and that was not a risk she was willing to take. She then went to the Quidditch pitch, thankfully no one saw her, but was yet again met with no Harry Potter, just the Ravenclaw Quidditch team practicing. Just as she was able to attempt to get into the Gryffindor common room she stumbled past the library and found him. He was sat at the table closest to the door, the same table Nova had found herself scribbling down Snape’s essay late the other night. _She made a mental note to finish that._

She marched over to his table, keeping her distance as she always did, “I need to speak to you about yesterday” 

“Which part?” Harry spoke looking up at her. He had a strange look in his eye that Nova could not quite work out, he looked torn but there was a hint of anger in his tone “The part where I saved your life, the part where you told me you wanted to end your life or the part where you drunk yourself into an inch of your life?”

Nova blushed slightly as the confessions of the evening were revealed. She sighed, “How about the part where I told you my Father brutalises me” 

He paled, “Want to sit down?”

Nova shook her head as she felt her stomach begin to bubble, the events of last night and her rushing around the castle catching up on her as she stood still.

Harry noticed too, furrowing his brows at her, “You okay?” 

“Hangover”

Harry chuckled in response, only stopping when Nova shot him a glare, “We can brew you a potion to stop it” 

Nova looked up, “We cannot –”

She was cut off, “We can, come we can talk there, Slughorn told me the password to his classroom”

She rolled her eyes as she stood up and followed Harry out of the library, “Course he did, the precious Chosen One”

He smirked back at her, not taking her sarcastic remark to heart, “Gotta start using the advantage somewhere”

They entered together, Harry closing the door but not locking it behind them. Automatically Nova went to the potion’s cabinet, taking the ingredients they needed as Harry set up the cauldron. They did not even have to consult each other as they set up, knowing each other’s next actions as if they were their own. She hated to admit it, even subconsciously, but Harry and she made a good team. 

Moments later, Nova was sat on top of the desk watching Harry as he brewed the potion having no energy to brew it herself due to her growing hangover but that did not stop her from pointing out the moments in which Harry stirred to quickly or turned the heat too high, in which he sent a look which translated as a simple _‘be quiet’._

_The potion itself was a form of a wellness potion, extremely easy to make when you had access to a classroom with the supplies. The teachers often made themselves gone the day after a Quidditch game, knowing the events that occurred in the winning teams’ common rooms, using the hangovers the students endured as simple, yet effective, punishment._

“I meant what I said to Blaise” Harry spoke after a minute in silence not taking his attention off the potion, “It’s none of my business, I’m not gonna tell anyone”

“I will kill you and dance on your grave if this ever gets out” she told him harshly and he looked up at her in scepticism, “I mean it Potter, try me”

He huffed at her insult, “Calm down Malfoy, I said I wouldn’t. He shouldn’t even be doing it in the first place?”

“Who is to say I did not deserve it? Every time it was because of something I did” she insisted as if she had to convince him, “I’m not a good person Potter”

“That doesn’t make you a bad one” he responded calmly 

“Well what does it make me then?”

“Damaged?” he suggested

“Oh please” she scoffed in offence, “You may be the ‘Boy Who Lived’ but you cannot go around with a complex of trying to save everyone. Not everyone can be saved, not everyone wants to be”

“Well maybe some people deserved to be saved” he insisted, a prevalent look in his eye as the analogy began to hit too close to home, “Even if they don’t want to be”

“Just stay out of my business Potter” she sighed jumping down from the desk and flattering out the top of her skirt. She was done listening to what Harry was trying to say to her; the noise of his voice further insulating the ache in her head, the words cutting even deeper

“I never wanted to get involved in your business to begin with Malfoy” he snapped back, “But what the bloody hell was I supposed to do when a bludger was heading in your direction”

“You let it hit me” she hissed. 

Nova shot Harry one last glare before leaving the classroom, abandoning the potion all together as she converted her pain from her pounding headache into further anger at the situation. She hated that Harry somehow knew what was going on inside her head, the lack of control she had now being resided with burning a hole into her existence. She spent so long inside her head she did notice the firm chest she bumped into, looking up to see Draco.

“There you are” he stated as if she had been on his mind, “I was coming to find you, we need to go to Bella’s”

“Why?”

“There are some things we need to discuss, Mother and Father are busy” Draco told her

She nodded, not questioning him any further, and walked towards her brother. She, of course, had lots of questions to ask but she kept them to herself. She had no desire to know where her parents were, at most slight curiosity but she did want to know why they were going to their Aunt’s house to discuss urgent business, urgent enough to leave school for. Usually family business waited until term holidays. She was excited to see her Aunt again, Nova had always favoured Bellatrix over her parents, she was around more for her and Draco when they were growing up and Nova knew she could learn so much for her.

It was a Saturday, so the twins simply made their way to Diagon Alley and into the Leaky Cauldron, Draco giving a subtle head nod to the bartender. Their Aunt had installed a port key at the back of the pub years ago to make visiting their family easier for the twins. Nova braced herself as they made their way out back, port key was her least favourite way to travel, the dizziness it caused often making her sick, and she was still unaware of the news that was waiting for her when she arrived.

The Manor stood proudly ahead of them, the darkness that erupted from within enough to cast shadow on even the brightest of days. Neither Malfoy spoke as they both made their way up to the front, Draco pointing his wand at the door for it to flick open, welcoming them inside. Upon knowing they had company, Bellatrix appeared at the top of the stairs.

“There you are” she beamed as she walked down the stairs; dressed in black, her pale skin lit up against the darkness of her surroundings, “My favourite niece and nephew”

Draco gave a huffed chuckle, “We’re you only niece and nephew Aunt Bella”

“Hi Aunt Bella” Nova added softly

“Draco dear, would you make yourself busy for a little while?” Bellatrix requested a knowing look in her eyes that made Nova’s stomach turn slightly, “I believe it’s time for Nova and me to have a chat, girl to girl”

Draco nodded, sharing an identical look with his Aunt before turning around and walking further into the Manor leaving Nova stood at the door. Bellatrix simply smiled at her as she made her way over, kissing her cheeks softly and pulling her into a hug. Once greetings had been made, they both their way into the drawing room of the Manor.  
“Are you leaving?” Nova questioned glancing around at the room. It had never been a particular joyous place to live or be, but it felt even colder than it usually did, more empty and even darker – if possible.

“You’re a smart girl” Bellatrix pointed out as she moved to seat herself on the sofa in the middle of the room, “But yes, duty calls. I will explain more when you’re home next”

Nova nodded in agreement, moving herself also to take a seat with her Aunt

“Still presenting yourself properly?” Bellatrix questioned to which Nova nodded too. Growing up, Draco had always had the harsher rules of the two to become a professionally trained, powerful Wizard whereas Nova’s duty laid in speaking, addressing and composing herself in the correct manner that would impress future husbands. Her duty was to continue the Pureblood line of course. “It’s an exciting time, I’m quite glad that your Mother and Father are busy, gives me the opportunity to tell you!” Bellatrix grinned at her niece.

Nova knew that Bellatrix had been on the run for a long time, escaping from Azkaban was tricky business and now she remained in hiding until it was safe for her to re-enter the Wizarding world. She had been in hiding for a couple years now all whilst in the process of getting back into contact with Dark Lord, Nova knew that much but apart from that she felt completely clueless. Nova was never informed much about the true extents of her crimes, but she was glad to have her Aunt back, even if the last few years of shadowing her had been difficult on their family.

“We have found you a husband” Bellatrix told her in the same tone she would use as if she was offering her niece a cup of tea, “When you finish school you will be wed as Mrs Antonin Dolohov”

Nova froze. She had never met the man before, but she knew him from his wanted posters she had seen in Diagon Alley when the Azkaban break out had occurred all those years ago. She had wondered if he had made it out alongside her Aunt, now having confirmation that he had only sent further shivers down her spine.

_A known Death Eater._

_Convicted Murderer._

_Fugitive from Azkaban._

_Approach with extreme caution._

And she was going to marry him.

“Dolohov?” she whispered, “But he’s –”

“An incredible powerful Wizard” 

“He was in Azkaban with you” Nova pointed out as if she was not already aware

“How do you think I know he’s the perfect fit for you?” Bellatrix beamed in response

“But –”

“Nova, dear. There is a war coming, a war in which we will reign again” she promised her, “But in order to do so we all must do our part, you will marry Dolohov and continue our bloodline just as your Mother did. Remember what I used to tell you when you were little?”

Nova nodded, not needing nor wanting her Aunt to repeat it.

Draco and Nova left not soon after the revelation. Nova had been informed that she was the last to know after her parents, her aunt, and her brother. She felt sick that Draco could have kept something as serious as this to himself, he really did keep secrets from her now. It was after dark by the time they arrived back at school, Nova knew if they were quick, they could make the end of dinner but neither Malfoy made any attempt to make their way to the Great Hall.

“You knew” Nova stated as she stared at her brother in betrayal

“You did too Nova” he responded simply, “No one hid it from you that your duty was to marry as soon as you were of age”

“Not to him, he is old enough to be my Father Draco” she shrieked, “He’s been in Azkaban”

“More people have been in Azkaban than you know” he snapped back at her, “We’re dark wizards Nova, the Malfoys, the Blacks, the Dolohov’s we are all on the same side here whether you like it or not”

Draco left her after that, telling her he was too busy to listen to her ‘childish issues’ and would find her later. She did not think her upset at being forced to marry a Death Eater was something to be translated as ‘childish’. Just when she thought she could go and eat in peace in the Great Hall, knowing her friends ate earlier and resided in the common room straight after, she bumped into the boy who had infiltrated her consciousness too much lately.

She sighed, “Potter, I have had the worst day of my life. Please, I do not have the energy to hex you right now”

Harry’s eyes softened slightly at her before he murmured out, “I finished the potion”

“The hangover is the least of my worries” she replied, a bitter laugh sprouting as she did

“Want to talk about it?”

“You would not understand” she huffed, “Family stuff”

“Is it to do with what you said the other day” Harry spoke, “About it being best if you weren’t alive?”

“Do not twist my words Potter” she defended

“M’not trying too” he replied, “I think that too sometimes, if I were dead things would be easier for everyone”

Nova simply scoffed, “Hardly, you’re the Chosen One”

“I’m cursed” he corrected, “Everyone I get into contact with dies”

Nova sighed, drained by the effects of today and the contracting feelings her body was currently going through. It was as if her body was drawn to Harry Potter, she was not sure why, she did not understand but whenever he was close it was as if she had a longing to get closer but she reminded herself who he was and who she was, who she was going to become whether she liked it or not before sprouting the darkest eyes she could at the Potter boy, “Then do me a favour and fuck off”.

*** 

Nova awoke the next morning with the events of the previous day laying heavy on her mind. She felt sick to her stomach when the memories played out again, like a constant pressure on her head. As always though she managed to portray the bratty, attitude filled Malfoy quite well, shrugging Pansy off when she said she seemed upset as they got ready for school. She even managed to laugh along at one of Theo’s ridiculously unfunny jokes over breakfast. She had grown used to continuing on when all she wanted to do was let the suffering take over.

She was in Potions once again, Draco and Blaise were both here also. She had not spoken much to her brother since yesterday, but Blaise did not find it bizarre when she happily chatted to him on the way to class, leaving Draco to drag slowly behind them. Blaise was paired with a Ravenclaw and although he did not seem impressed by the choice, Nova knew the intelligence would be good for him and his overall grade. Slughorn had kept the rest of the pairs the same, including Harry and Nova, even commenting that the two of them made a good team. Nova shrugged it off.

They were once again set to create another potion, a potion of their choice, assigned to write an analysis of this chosen potion for their homework. As much as she hated to admit it, she and Harry did seem to work flawlessly together, leaning around one another casually to reach ingredients and commenting every now and then about Harry’s textbook as she scribbled down notes and corrected measurements into her own. Even before they had even greeted one another, Harry wordlessly went to get the equipment as Nova began measuring out the ingredients.

“Would you ever tutor me in Potions?” Harry questioned her, fiddling with his fingers awkwardly

Nova stopped what she was doing for a moment, turning her gaze towards him in confusion. She could not think as to what reason Harry could possibly have for wanting to be tutored by her, especially when she had done nothing but be horrible to him since they got paired together.

“Why me?” she asked

“What?”

She shoved him slightly to lean over their desk to grab an ingredients their potion was missing. Humming to herself in approval when the potion turned the colour she was expecting from the start, “Your best friends with the ‘Brightest Witch of our Age’. So, why me?”

“Hermione is good – spectacular really” Harry stuttered out as he glanced at his friend across the room who was happily chatting away to her partner, another Gryffindor, as they made their potion, “But like Slughorn said, I think we’re a good team. Your potion methods are more similar to mine”

“Yeah okay, if you like” she replied, not even looking at him as he skimmed through his potion book, quickly stealing an idea from his and copying it into her own

“Wait, really?”

She looked up him then, “It benefits me Potter, you practically have a twenty-four seven pass to Slughorn’s potion cabinet, I want that too” she shrugged 

“I think we have similar schedules besides my Quidditch” Harry voiced

She looked up at him once again unaware that he would want to start planning their sessions already, “I promised Blaise I would start going to watch him practice so they’re probably more or less identical” she agreed, “But I like to get my homework done as soon as it’s set. I was going to do today’s straight after this, I have a free”

“Me too” Harry replied, “About the free, not doing the homework. But we can just stay behind after class and do it here?”

She nodded at him, “Okay”

Harry smiled softly at her and although Nova did not return it, she did not scowl at him either. She, once again, pushed her ever conflicting feelings for Potter to the back of her mind, deciding she was not quite ready to deal with them as of yet. Malfoy’s were known to be angry, Draco and her Father were prime examples of this, but Nova was tired and she had more important things to be angry at than Harry Potter.

Slughorn dismissed the class later that lesson, reminding everyone about the essay before students jetted out of the classroom as quickly as they could. Harry had already asked Slughorn if he and Nova could stay behind after class, he did not even hesitate as he told them to stay for as long as they needed. The potion they had created together got top marks, from Nova’s potion making skills or Slughorn’s admiration for Harry neither were sure but they took the grade happily.

“Noves” Blaise called from the door giving her a confused glance when he noticed all her things still laid out on the desk, “You ready?”

“You both go ahead” she dismissed him with a smile as Harry quietly kept his back to the door, “We’re going to do the analysis homework”

“With him?” Draco voiced up for the first time today, looking at Nova directly for the first time since the events of yesterday

“Well he is my partner, is he not?” she snapped back

Draco cut her once last scowl before he huffed, turning around and leaving the classroom. She did not wait long enough to see Blaise’s expression, though she knew he would be used to the way her and Draco acted around each other by now. They were each other’s halves but they were still siblings.

“Everything okay?” Harry questioned once she had settled down again, setting up her quill and parchment in front of her

“Let us not pretend we care about each other” she told him with a forced smile, “It’s just Draco being an arse, as usual”

“Well, I won’t disagree with that” Harry agreed causing Nova to kick him under the table. He smirked at this. 

Nova and Harry spent the rest of their free writing an analysis on their potion, Harry pointed out the basics – the colour, the smell, the consistency – and Nova aided him on expanding on his points, illustrating why the aspects Harry had chosen were like that. Together they developed a piece of work Nova was proud of, Harry too (though this did not take much effort). Harry had finished his own piece a lot earlier than Nova, who decided to further compare the advantages to their chosen potion over another she knew, but he did not leave the classroom. Harry stayed and watched her as she furiously wrote down her ideas, attempting to avoid eye contact as she felt him watching.

“Write any quicker and you’ll set the parchment alight” he commented suddenly 

Nova head whipped up to look at Harry, who had no judgement on his face, simply curious humour, before she let out a small chuckle at the sight of him. Upon hearing Harry let out a laugh of his own Nova’s let out a deep giggle, hearing Harry find his own joke comical making warmth spread throughout her.

“Never seen you laugh before” Harry informed her once she had stopped, “Laugh happily that is”

“And I think you know why” she told him. _She had nothing to be happy about._

His face fell slightly, “Nova”

“I have to go” she replied, standing up and collecting her wand and not even waiting for a response from Harry as she barrelled her way out of the classroom. She cursed herself as she did, her constant negativity, driven directly from insecurity, managing to ruin every good thing in her life – or potential good thing in this case. She could not help but wonder after everything had family name had put others through, the side she was on and what she was fighting for, or against, did she deserve a good thing? 

“Fucking hell” she gasped as she practically ran into a hard chest outside of the classroom, “Bit of warning would have been nice?”

“Wanted to talk to you” Blaise informed her once she had straightened herself out, “Fancy a walk? Or are you hungry?”

She shook her head. She was hungry but she had a free after her lunch break, well she would be reading while she and Pansy watched Blaise play Quidditch, so she decided food could wait. A walk was just what she needed anyways, an excuse to clear her head with good, safe company. “A walk sounds nice”

Blaise nodded at her, smiling in response as he grasped her hand in his and took her outside. Nova did not mention that she was cold but that did not stop her best friend from wrapping his scarf around her neck, pulling it tighter to secure the breeze from creeping inside her robes. It was at this moment she realised why so many people had assumed that her and Blaise were dating, why so many girls had run to her soon as the news of Daphne and Blaise spread around their year. It was sweet that girls she had never even spoken to have her back but Nova found the whole thing comical; Blaise and she laughed about it often.

They had been walking for a while, Blaise had led them towards the Forbidden Forest and round the back edges of the school to end near the lake – it was one of their favourite trails. Silence surrounded them as they trekked. It was lunch time but the ground of the school lay in solace as Nova imagined everyone crammed into the Great Hall to eat, it was creeping closer towards Winter and the air was bitter – Nova predicted they would have snow in a few weeks.

Blaise had been unusually quiet the whole time, Nova telling him about her day for the last five minutes although she was unsure if he was listening. It was pleasant, Blaise seemed to be the only person in the world Nova could talk aimlessly to but it was strange he had not responded; he had always been chatty, even if it were dropping sarcastic or comical comments into her stories.

She nudged him with her elbow to gain his attention, “You okay?” she asked him in wonder, “Anything intelligent going on up there?”

Blaise chuckled, shoving her playfully at her comment before taking a deep breath, “Doubt anything intelligent but still a lot”

Nova frowned at his response, “Are you okay?”

Blaise nodded, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, “You know Ginny?”

“Weasley?”

“Yeah” he confirmed in awkwardness, “She’s – she’s been helping me out in Quidditch um – for a while now actually. She helped me decide to go pro” he was silent for a moment before he huffed out another breath, “Really like her Noves”

“Like –”

He cut her off in a sign, “Yeah, like as in ‘I want her around for the rest of my life’ type of like”

“You’ve wanted to go pro for over a year now” Nova reminded him as if he could forget, she just did not understand why this was the first time she had been told of the incident, “Why did you not tell me this before?”

“Everything I’ve ever told you gets back to Draco and that was never an issue, he’s my mate too” he replied, “I guess I’m just not ready to tell him this yet”

Nova felt guilty suddenly. Blaise had always been so good at keeping her secrets even the ones where her wellbeing was at harm and he had every right to inform Snape or even Dumbledore. She remembered the nights she would return to the castle after an unfortunate meeting with her Father and she would beg Blaise not to say anything to anyone about what had occurred and he would agree, even as she sobbed and he cleaned her wounds. It had not occurred to her that the secrets he had often shared with her were for her and only her, they had often been shared with Draco because she shared everything with her brother, she had forgotten that other people did not feel like that. Especially Blaise.

“Why now?” she questioned him, “I didn’t know anything had changed? What makes you want to confide in me now?”

“Saw you with Potter today. You seem different around him” Blaise informed her and Nova attempted not to flinch against his arm, “And then when you didn’t care about staying behind with him –”

She cut him off, “Blaise, we’re partners in Potions”

“The analysis is a solo report” he pointed out causing Nova’s cheeks to warm up slightly at the call out. He was correct, the potion making with a partnered task but Slughorn never addressed the matter of homework, Harry had offered and Nova had just agreed – it was harmless. “Even if it weren’t you never would have done that this time last year. It made me realise that if you can be with him, even if it just being partners in a class, I could tell my best friend about this”

Nova nodded again, leaning further into his body in both reassurance that he could talk to her and in comfort of the bitter wind. Blaise had taken such a motherly role in their friendship group, even outweighing Pansy, that Nova often forgot he had his own problems going on. She did not know Ginny well, her Father had been bitter about them – he called them Blood Traitors. Blaise had the same ideals as the rest of them, knowing they were fortunate, but his thoughts of Pureblood ideologies were never as strong as the rest of them – not that he would admit that to anyone, Nova just knew him – it was always why Nova thought they had clicked so well.

“My whole life I was raised to think he was scum, and I did for a long time” Nova confessed as she watched Blaise kick stones across the grounds of their school, “But he’s not actually that different from us. Not sure why, he seems to really care”

“Gin too, maybe it’s a Gryffindor thing” Blaise agreed making the pair laugh for a moment, “Always making sure I’m okay, been a shoulder to lean on when I needed another one”

Nova chuckled again as he elbowed her playfully, “Does she know you like her?”

Blaise sighed and shook his head, “She’s with someone – Luna”

“Lovegood?” Nova questioned in surprise, “She told you?”

He shrugged, “Tell each other a lot to be honest. I’m trusting you not to say anything, don’t think they’ve told their friends yet”

Nova nodded, looking up at him, “I’ll keep it safe. I’m sorry you felt like I could not keep any of your own secrets”

He shook his head, grasping her hand in his, “Just promise me” he asked, “I dunno how you feel about Potter and I won’t push it but don’t let any of this house rivalry or Pureblood shit ruin a potential good thing. I know it’s different with your family but – life is so much more than all this” he sighed, “There’s a war coming Nove and none of us know what the outcome will be just because we don’t have a choice of where we stand doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have the chance to fight for what we want”

She nodded, leaning her head on his shoulder as they reached the lake. She did not know how she felt about Potter, and if she would ever act on any feelings, but she knew Blaise was right. None of them were really that different, they were all children raised to be whatever their parents had wanted them to be, child soldiers in a way. She did not know if she would ever have the chance to go against any of the rules that had be so strictly written for her but Blaise was right, she deserved the chance to at least try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We love a good background couple, especially one as beautiful as Ginny and Luna!


	5. Halloween

**T.W. ABUSE**

It was the night before Halloween, it was past curfew but as always Nova did not worry about the time knowing that if she did not bump into Pansy or Draco on their prefect rounds, she could spit some insults to slip past the other prefects without harm, to her anyway. She had been in the library, the common room too loud to think as the commotion of setting up for Halloween party the following evening took over. She had never been much of a fan of Halloween, viewing the night as a whole as a pompous excuse to pretend not to be afraid of the world’s darkest creatures. At least it was an excuse to get drunk.

“What the fuck?” she spoke aloud as she rounded the corner towards the dungeons. On the floor, outside the entrance to the Slytherin common room, lay Harry Potter. He was dressed in his robes and sat, just, leaning up against the back wall. At the sound of her voice his head rose and she caught eye contact with his bloodshot eyes, the green piercing out more than normal. It was not until Nova noticed the half empty bottle of Fire Whiskey, he clutched in his palm that she understood what was going on. “Potter, are you drunk?”

“Wasted” he corrected with a cheeky grin, a look in his eye that told her he knew something that she did not

She sighed as she placed her books on the ground the opposite side of the door to where Harry was sat – she was trying to be considerate but she knew she would hex him if he threw up anywhere near her things – before she crouched down to his level, smiling softly as he giggled at her pushing a piece of his hair off his face, “Halloween isn’t until tomorrow you know?”

“Wish I didn’t” he grumbled, a hiccup following before he raised the bottle up to his lips

“Give me that” she ordered practically snatching the bottle from his grip, throwing it behind her and muttering a spell to make it disappear before it hit the ground, “Think we can get you back to Gryffindor or do I need to grab Blaise?”

He shook his head as he leaned his neck further back against the wall, “Needed to see you”

She tried desperately to ignore the way his Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed, reminding herself they were not supposed to be attractive – not his anyways. Harry’s ‘need’ to see her was also not helping her resolve but it did not stop her from raising her hand up to jaw, swiping away at the tear-stricken cheeks she had not noticed until now.

“My parents are dead” he muttered suddenly 

Her fingers stopped for a moment before she sighed again, “I know they are –” she stopped herself for a moment as her brain began to add things together, “Harry, when did your parents die?”

“1981” he hiccupped, “31st October”.

She sighed to herself as Harry leaned further into the wall, his eyes fluttering closed and re-opening a moment later, just to close again. She had never expected Harry to confide in her about his upset, she was not worthy of that, but upset due to the loss of his parents was not something she was prepared for. Her relationship with her own parents was jilted, ruined in a way. She would never be able to love them, they had caused her a damage that could never be healed and because of that she did not believe she would batter an eyelid if they died in the same fate as the Potter’s. Now, however, she was faced with a boy who had loved his parents so dearly, only knowing them for a such a short period of time – she was out of her depth. 

Just as she was about to grab Blaise from the common room and ask for his aid in dragging the Potter boy back to his own common room, a light bulb went off in her head. She stood slowly, the movement making Harry’s eyes snap open, as she retreated back to her books and bag in the opposite corner. It took a moment of rummaging in the small satchel before she felt the cool, crisp glass against her fingertips. She smiled as she pulled out the small vile full of a cloudy liquid, making her way back to Harry.

His eyes were open lethargically and watching her with a soft smile, “You have pretty eyes” he murmured out, “So blue – favourite thing about you”

“Thank you” she replied. She was blushing, she knew she was, but she was hoping in his current state he would not be able to tell, “I have my Mother’s eyes”

He smiled lazily at her, “Me too, that’s what everyone says anyways, I don’t remember her”.

“Drink this” she instructed, popping of the cork, and pushing it towards Harry’s grasp, “And hope it does not kill you” she added. She was gifted at potions, she knew that but she was unsure if the sober up potion would work. Good thing Slughorn’s classroom was nearby. 

Harry did not even question her, taking the vile and tipping it down his throat. He spluttered out a cough as he discarded the glass besides him with a clatter on the ground. Besides the splutter he did not make any other concerning movement or turn a different colour which Nova regarded a good sign.

“That tasted like shit” Harry commented suddenly and Nova burst into laughter. His eyes had stopped rolling and his voice had returned the tone Nova recognised, “Sober-me-up potion?”

“Made it to avoid the banging headache I got last hangover, knew it would come in handy” she replied with a cheeky smile before standing up and laying her hands out for Harry to grab, “Come on”

“What are you doing?”

“We got about twenty-five minutes until Halloween” she stated, checking the time on the clock that lay above the Slytherin common room, “Your parents shouldn’t be alone tonight, don’t you think?”

He sighed, “Malfoy –“

“I’m trying here Potter” she replied, a sigh of her own leaving her lips, “I’m trying to understand your sadness whilst attempting to be nice while you’re clearing struggling and I do not think I have done bad so far, would you not agree?”

He nodded at her before taking her hand and pulling himself up, “Lead the way!”

She smiled at him again, grasping his wrist in her hand as she headed towards the corridor the other side to the Slytherin common room. Blaise and herself had found the classroom in their third year at the school; a dusty, cold environment used for nothing more than storing desks. It was not the space itself that continued to draw them back, no, it was the fireplace in the corner that for some bizarre reason had never been disconnected from the Floo network. Harry questioned her as to how she knew of the location as Nova collected them both some Floo powder from a small tin Blaise had hidden next the fireplace. She did not reply, did not tell him why but simply shrugged and dumped a handful of powder into his hands, the quantity looking considerably smaller in his hands.

They travelled to a small pub that Nova had never heard the name of before, she simply followed Harry’s lead. She had found trusting him had become a habit she was not quite sure she wanted to get used too. They declined the request of a pint as they made their way out of the pub, Nova again following Harry like a lost puppy. They did not converse in extent conversation throughout the trip but she did ask him if visited his parents often. He did not.

They had to weave their way through the small graveyard to make it to Harry’s parents. The wind howled around them as they crept closer, the air bitter in the open space. The grave itself was beautiful if death could be described in such a way. A joint gravestone marking the names of the married couple alongside their birth and date death, their age not much older than Harry and Nova were currently. Nova was raised to not fear death instead welcome it if it ever fell into her clutches. The death of Harry’s parents was national news in the Wizarding World, history if you will. They had died protecting the thing they loved most in the world, Nova had always thought it was a magnificent act of bravery and love though she would never admit it. She always wondered if she would be capable of loving someone so much to die for them.

“Do you do this every year?” she questioned in attempt to break the silence. She felt awkward but she was unsure if Harry did, she was reminded that although she felt a growing connection to the boy in a way she could not describe, she did not know him, not really.

“Get blackout drunk?” he asked and she nodded, wrapping her arms around herself in attempt to warm herself further, “Usually. It’s the only thing that stops the pain but you that too well”

“Is that why you came to find me?” she suggested, looking up at him in wonder as the night of her own blackout replayed in her head, the moments she remembered that was, “Because I would understand?”

“No” he dismissed almost immediately as they caught eye contact, “It’s more than that”

“What –” 

“Are you cold?” he queried his contact now away from her eyes and on her arms

“I run cold” she informed him, “I’m used to it though, nothing to fret about”

He stared at her frame for a moment longer before moving his eyes back to his parents’ grave. Nova smiled softly, not saying anything, as she felt a sudden warmth enclose her allowing her to release her arms. Harry smiled too. She knelt down after allowing her to bathe in the heat for a little while, drawing her wand and performing a simple spell for a reef of flowers to appear. Liles. 

“I don’t want their death to be in vain” Harry told her as Nova stood back up, leaning closer into the boy than she had before, “But I’m so angry at them, for dying, for leaving me. Everyone has a habit of leaving me – does that make me a bad person?”

Saying she was shocked at the confession would have been a lie, Nova did not know the boy stood before her was able to feel anger. It sounded silly as she thought about it in her head, he had so many reasons to be angry and he was correct, so many people had left him. She was angry too, Draco and herself had practically been raised on rage to the point that anger flowed freely in their veins. That was the difference between them, he was angry for all the lives he had lost that he deserved to have yet she felt so much rage for people in her life, people she wished would leave her.

She was silent for a moment longer before she allowed her pinkie to brush his, to share her warmth with him in hope it brought him the comfort she did not know how to provide, “I know bad people, I was raised by them, and you are not a bad person. You are everything good in a world full of bad people”.

The world seemed to slow for a moment, as if the axis had been misplaced, as Harry and Nova got lost in their favourite parts of one another. Maybe the world did slow, maybe it was confused and desperately attempting to change the fate of the complete disaster it had created. They were a lost cause. Nova had never realised before that Harry had freckles, very faint littering the sides of his cheeks, and it was not until their noses were almost touching that this was revealed to her. She liked it. She liked the feeling of his breath on her skin as if it were melting away the walls she had spent so long placing up for herself. Nova had never felt as content in her life as she did in this moment. However, it was only a moment and another entered breaking them apart. The sound of movement snapped behind them causing Harry’s head to whip up, his arm reaching out in intent to move Nova behind him before he lowered it in revelation of who it was.

“Harry mate, we’ve been looking for you everywhere we –” the voice trailed off as it was revealed to both Ron and Hermione who their best friend had taken to accompany him in his least favourite day of the year

The red head shuffled slightly on his feet before he looked up, “Malfoy”

Nova hated herself for it but she felt herself take a step from Harry before looking at Ron, “Hello”

“Harry” Hermione sighed, a tone of disgust clear in her voice, “We would have come with you, you didn’t have to come with –” she trailed off

“With me” Nova finished for her, “Did it ever occur to you Granger that maybe he wanted me here?”

“We know you are” Ron replied, taking a step slightly in front of Hermione as if Nova was going to harm her in a way more than words, “And we know what side you’re on, you could never care for him in the same way we do”

“What, because I am a Malfoy? Because I want power and the glory that the names brings and I will do whatever it takes to get it no matter who I harm in the process? Is that what you want to say? Open your eyes Weasley, we are all kids here. I am just as broken as the rest of you except I have learnt to love the pain, I did not fight it” she sighed, blinking away at the tears that appeared in her tear ducts, “I get it, okay, I am never going to be a hero in your eyes, but I sure done with being your villain”

She did not wait for a response, she did not wish to hear one, before she headed towards the entrance of the graveyard in hopes of disappearing back to the castle and crawling into bed. “Wait –” Harry called stepping in front of her

“It’s okay” she told him, brushing her pinkie against him again in some secret act of reassurance, “I will see you soon, get back safe, okay?”

“Harry” Hermione sighed at the look her best friend directed at her the moment Nova was out of sight, “We’re just looking out for you”

“I know that Hermione” he responded, his voice tight in resentment, “But I’m not a child and she’s nothing like the person you think she is”

Ron shrugged, “To you”

“What?”

“She’s a bitch to everyone mate” Ron stated causing Harry’s head to flick up, a warning glare being sent in his best friend’s direction, “Except you. She’s better around you, well I mean you haven’t been hex yet, have ya?” 

“It’s easy with her” Harry confessed, “I’m drawn to her, m’not proud it”

“You can’t be though Harry, that’s the problem here” Hermione sighed once again, “She’s one of them”

“She’s not Draco, she’s not her parents” Harry responded and he meant it, “If it makes you feel better, I’ve seen her arm, no Dark Mark”

“You know that does not prove anything”

“Hermione” Harry pleaded, “Please, not tonight”

Hermione nodded, forgetting where they were for a moment before she took a step forward and grasped Harry’s hand in her own and leading him back to his parent’s grave, Ron following behind them. They allowed Harry to bask in the sadness the location brought him, comfortable silence surrounded them as they all let tears fall for the two people who meant so much to the Potter boy yet he would never get to see again. Death was not beautiful to them, it was tragic, awful and everything Nova had not been taught. It was real.

Amongst it all, Harry was the one to notice the details of the flowers Nova had placed in memory of his parents, the lilies being a connection to his Mother. A soft smile sprung to his features amidst the tears when he focused on the smallest flower of the reef in the corner, a different colour to the cream colour the rest of the flowers possessed, as the ever growing feelings flooded into his soul. The colour blue had a new meaning now.

***

Nova never cared much for Halloween, not viewing the humorous horror that others seemed to indulge in as something worth her time. The real world, Nova’s world, was scarier enough, the past of her own life enough to keep her awake at night, she did not need the festivities to aid this. However, last night – and the early hours of the morning – that she spent alongside Harry at his parent’s grave brought her a comfort that she never had felt before, never felt that she had deserved to feel. The night itself was going well until Harry’s friends decided to show up, prompting Nova to swiftly show herself out. Being acquainted with the ‘Chosen One’ was enough of a hassle – especially with her growing endearment for the boy – but she drew the line of becoming any closer to the ‘Golden Trio’ – _what type of name even was that?_

Professor McGonagall had found her when she returned to the school, apparently a spell had been set off upon her disappearance – Nova had noted that that had never happened before – and though the Gryffindor professor had held a soft spot for the Malfoy girl, she had to obey by school rules and write home to her parent’s. Nova was unsure exactly what was said in the letter owl’d to the Malfoy Manor but it was worse enough that her parents had requested her home immediately, something Professor Dumbledore ensured them was not necessary but something they demanded. 

It was not her parents she was faced the morning of Halloween upon her return to the cold, ash grey resistance she unfortunately had to call home, it was her Aunt. Professor McGonagall had allowed Nova to use the Floo in her office, Bellatrix practically dragging the girl from the fireplace the minute it flashed green. 

“What are you doing?” Nova squealed, desperately attempting to pull her Aunt’s grip from hair. Bellatrix, like her Father, had always insisted on using harsher punishment methods on the young Malfoy’s but since her return from Azkaban, Bellatrix had not put a finger on Nova, “You’re hurting me!”

“And you are doing nothing but causing this family issues” Bellatrix hissed, “I always knew your parents are too soft on you”

Nova wanted to scream, demand her Aunt to inform her of which of her Father’s parenting techniques she considered ‘too soft’; the branding he had permanently scared on her arm from a torture spell, forcing Draco and herself to perform mind charms on one another as infants until they passed out in exhaustion, placing such harm on her ability to love that she was questioning the only thing in her life that felt right? She could go on, and she wished she had the courage to but there was always a reason she had not been placed in Gryffindor so all she muttered out was a simple, “What?”

“You’re a Malfoy!” Bellatrix spat, “You have Black in your blood and if I were you, I would start acting like it. Draco is doing nothing but aiding this family’s success but you? You get caught breaking the simplest school rules”

“It wasn’t a big deal” she defended. Nova sneaking out of school should have been the last of her Aunt’s worries, seeing as she was on the run from the Ministry and an obvious war was coming. She did not even know who Nova had left with, she knew because she would be dead already if she did.

A smirk appeared on Bellatrix’s face, an expression so evil Nova had never seen directed at her before, as she took gradual steps towards her, “Your husband will put you in your place” she promised, “But until then, a harsher punishment never hurt”.

Bellatrix lied. It did hurt. Nova’s scream imprinted themselves on the walls of her own home, the same home that she had spent laughing with her twin in their earlier years. She hated herself for hating him in this moment but she could not help but blame him for part of her misery. If only he had told her who she should be, as they had done for him, maybe she could have been the perfect Malfoy daughter her family had so desperately craved. She would not be here, laying silently in the middle of the floor, taking the spells her Aunt cast at her. She did not ask her stop, she refused to stoop to the level of not taking a punishment she so clearly deserved. Maybe her Aunt was right, maybe her parents had been too soft on her?

It was hours later that Nova returned to the castle, drained from using the Floo at Malfoy Manor to the Lestrange Estate to use the Portkey to Diagon Alley – anything to hide from the Professors of what had happened to her. The travelling had exhausted her, the beating she had received from her Aunt had added to this. It was simple hex’s she had used, easy torture spells that would heal in a day or two but the marks that currently graced the Malfoy’s girls face were not anything she had any intention of showing anyone. She had permission from Dumbledore himself to be excused from her lessons while she was visiting so she was thankful she did not have to attend any of lessons today.

She managed to stumble to her door without anyone seeing her, placing a resistant charm on the door to inform any awaiting visitors she did not want to be there that they were not welcome. It was not until she was in the safety of her dorm – the small four walls being the only place she had ever felt peace – that she allowed herself to look at her reflection. It was worse than she expected, than what she guessed from the spells hitting her face. She had a deep, dark purple hue of a bruise covering the left side of her face, her temple seemed to sink in further than it had the previous day and her lip was split in the corner. From the right side she looked completely fine, normal if her fearful eyes were not in the equation, but her face was the image of beaten and bruised. Her body told a similar story, Nova was sure of it, but she did not have the energy to check yet.

“There’s a spell on the door for a reason!” she called out when the handle rattled

“Malfoy” a familiar voice that made her heart shatter and drop at the same time. She had not expected him to be able to enter, her magic not as strong as she once believed, “Sorry, I didn’t notice any spell. I just wanted to drop off some notes for you, Blaise let me in, my handwritings a bit shit but you weren’t in potions and I know your grades mean –“

“Potter” she spoke as firmly as her fragile voice would allow

“Sorry, m’rambling” he stated. She wanted to tell him she could listen to him ramble all day but she refrained, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine” she sighed, still not turning around to face him, “You can leave the notes on my bed, one on your left from the door!”

“Nova” his voice spoke in apprehension, sounding closer than it had moments ago

“You don’t get to call me –“ she replied at the same moments where Harry turned her shoulders to face him.

Nova did not have many moments where she wished she could disappear. She would take the punishments her Father, and now Aunt, with grace, the insults digging deeper into her skin than she wished to admit but her stature did not fault. Even now, when Harry spoke her name as if they were anything more than companions, she felt strong enough to push him away, even when hearing her name from his lips would be the one word she clung to in her darkest hours. If she could have one moment however where the world would swallow her up, it would be now. Harry did not say anything, simply stared at the marks on her face as if he had never seen anything like them before.

“Noves” a voice called from the door, a familiar tone that filled her with warmth instead of dread, a voice in which she thanked whoever was up there or around for sending. Blaise stepped further into her dorm room, his face scrunching up in anger before relaxing in sadness at the realisation. He had seen both of the twins in this state enough to know that anger would not get them anywhere, nothing would, “I didn’t know, I wouldn’t have let him in if I did”

“Potter, I think you should go” Nova spoke finally, her lips dry with the silence that had overtaken them

“Malfoy” Harry whispered, a faint sense of rage clear of his features, “Who did this to you?”

“Blaise, please” she sighed turning her body, and face, away from the both of them to shield herself from his stark eyes. She listened in silence as she heard Blaise make his way further into the room. There were shuffles behind her as Blaise comforting demands that Harry left filled her ears. She had never felt more alone in this moment but Harry’s pity was the last thing she wanted right now.

She felt Blaise’s arms wrap around her front the minute Harry had left and for once in her life she allowed herself to collapse into him, howling out sounds of misery as he cradled her towards him. It took her a while to notice another presence in the room. Draco stood silently at the door, a look of a mixture of anger and fear laced on his features, as his sister wept into the arms of his best friend. The bruised side of her face revealed to him, the familiar patterns his skin something he had witnessed too many times before, lifting her head pushed a gasp out of her brother at their Aunt’s wand work. 

“Get out!” she cried, her voice filled with disappointment for her him, “Perfect little Draco, doing anything and everything they want him to do whilst I’m left clueless as always”

“Nova – “ Draco began

“Fuck off!” she screamed, clutching Blaise tighter as tears continuing to stream down her face before she wept, “We’re supposed to be on the same team, why am I fighting this on my own?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Besides the abuse, this is one of my favourite chapters I have written so far. We really begin to see Nova's conflicting feelings for Harry!  
> Let me know what you think x


	6. The Revelation

Nova missed Halloween. She spent the afternoon crying into Blaise’s arm before she passed out in exhaustion and he put her to bed. She woke up briefly just before midnight to hear the sound of the party in the common room before she cast a silencing charm around her bed and drifted back off to sleep. When morning came Blaise brought her breakfast in bed, a few bits of a toast and a cup of tea and recommended that she kept low for today if she wanted to keep her appearance to herself.

Theo and Pansy joined them in the late morning, Theo sitting crossed legged at the end of her bed while Pansy and Blaise sat on the formers bed next to Nova’s. For the first time in a long time the four of sat in silence, Draco was nowhere in sight which Nova was grateful for but it did not explain why no one was speaking. After going through many possible faults in her head she landed on the party, everything seemed fine when she saw them all last.

“So” Nova began taking glances between the three of her friends, “Who is going to tell me what happened last night?”

The tension had been awkward ever since she sat down this morning. To begin with she put it down to her appearance but her friends had seen both her and Draco black and blue, and far worse than this, on multiple occasions throughout the years and nothing had amounted to this. Neither Pansy nor Theo would look in her direction, Blaise was busy glaring at the latter. It was almost as if everyone feared taking a breath out line.

“Well –“ she continued, “I can’t think what else it could be so, what happened?”

Pansy lifted her head to meet Nova’s gaze, only then did she realise how Pansy’s eye were bloodshot and tired, “You really don’t know?” she questioned with a spite in her tone that had never been directed at Nova before, “We play truth or dare last night with some knock off Veritaserum someone brought down Knockturn Alley”

Though Nova had never used the potion herself, the concentrated liquid was kept under strict use of the Ministry, she had heard things about it and its powers. “And?” she asked further not understanding what Pansy was hinting at

“Theo told me he fancied me –“ Pansy announced but she was cut off by a sigh from Theo

“Pans”

“He fancies me but really he’s in love with you” she grimaced staring directly at Nova, “But then again, who’s not in love with perfect little Nova”

“What did you just say to me?” Nova spoke not breaking eye contact with the girl who knew so much about her. The girl she would cry to in the middle of the night when she could not distinguish between her nightmares and real life, who she spent gossiping too in the evenings, who pushed her so hard to achieve exactly what she wanted in life. A girl who was now looking at her as if she did not know who she was, as if she had slipped Theo a love potion herself.

“You heard me” Pansy snapped, “I always knew you got everything you wanted but I never thought you’d do this to me”

“Pansy that’s enough” Blaise stated just over lapping Nova’s own curses

Pansy did not wait long until she rolled her eyes and standing up from the bed before leaving the dorm room. Blaise sent Nova a look of sympathy before he stood up and followed her out, calling out her name as he did. That left Theo and Nova alone together in her dorm room. 

“She’s right, you know” he told her about a few moment of silence, “M’in love with you. Have been for years”

She looked up at him, sat on the end of her bed, and frowned, “And you never told me?”

He shrugged, “Sounds crazy but it was not so much about you” he told her, “Could have spent my whole life from loving you from a distance, it was enough for me”.

She could have burst into tears when she turned to face him, the main reason being that he seemed so genuine but also for the constant reminder that she would never be able to feel that. She was jealous of him a moment because even though he loved someone who did not love him back, at least he could love – at least he would be able to feel the emotion she felt so blinded too. Nova doubted she would ever be able to love, she would rather die than love the man she was promised to marry.

She was silent for a moment longer before she sighed, “When we were small and my parents were raising me to marry someone, they found appropriate, I heard them talking about the son of Mr Nott often” she smiled softly at him, “I always thought I would have to marry you and just know that I dreamed of that”

For just a moment, a flicker of a second, Nova wished she were small again. When she was small things seemed so simply, rules were so easy to follow and who she was meant to be was perfectly mapped out for her in a way that seemed so possible to her younger self. She had no idea how things would change and who she would meet to influence these changes. She wished she could tell Theo she loved him too because although they would never be able to be together, she was beginning to understand exactly how much it hurt to want someone so badly, to have them so close and not be able to have them.

Theo offered her a sad smile in response, “But you dream of another now”

She leant forward to grasp her hand in hers, giving it a squeeze, “I don’t dream anymore”.

*** 

Whilst Nova wanted to spend her day hiding away in her dorm, especially since hearing Pansy shouting how much she now hated her in the hallway whilst Blaise called after her, she had promised Harry that she would tutor him in potions and her tutor sessions fell on that night. Besides, although she hated that Harry had seen her like that, it did mean that he was not going to get a shock when he saw her or she would have to make up some terrible excuse to cancel.

Harry was already waiting for her when she entered Slughorn’s classroom, the password he had carelessly trusted her with rolling off her tongue before the door clicked open. His head rose from the desk they normal sat on, his book and quill already out, as they caught eye contact.

Nova pointed her finger at Harry as she made her way to join him at the desk, “Not a word Potter” she instructed, “They go down in a few days, I told you this is what happens when I do something I’m not supposed to do, so I do not want to hear anything more about it and if I even see a hint of pity, I will hex you so we match”

“Gillyweed” Harry blurted out causing Nova to give him a blank look

She stared at him in confusion as she dumped her books onto the desk, “What the fuck are you on about?”

“Gillyweed and Aloe Vera” he told her, “I won’t say anything about –“ he paused, “What happened, but I went to the library after I left your dorm yesterday, I read that Gillyweed and Aloe Vera can help reduce the swelling quicker”

Nova’s heart swelled at the prospect of Harry sat in the library, passed curfew with his head buried inside a book attempting to find a form of treatment that would help, would help her. “Thank you” she told him softly pausing for a moment to smile at him before placing her books onto the table and telling Harry to open to same page she was on.

They had not been studying for long, which was not surprising, when Harry began to show signs of boredom. Nova was attempting to teach him about the break downs of a potions as it was aid him linking the forms of different potions together in analysis, which was what allowed Nova to score such high grades, but Harry was having none of it.

“I heard about what happened with Theo” he told her as he scribbled yet another smiley face on the top of his textbook, “Well, I heard Pansy screaming it outside the Great Hall”

Nova huffed as she closed her own textbook, silently agreeing they were done for the moment, “Merlin, does the whole school know about that?”

“She’s quite loud”

She could not help but let a small laugh slip through, “Theo and I spoke it through, it’s never going to happen between us, he knew that. I don’t think he ever really wanted me to know”. It was few moments of silence, where the sounds of their breathing took over the room, that Nova allowed to pass before she looked up at Harry’s curious glance in her direction, “What?”

He shrugged, “Thought he would be exactly who you were after” he informed her, the tone of his voice not giving away that he was more than okay that Theo was not, “With you being the Slytherin princess and all?”

“Merlin, I haven’t heard that nickname in a while” she let out a sigh before another faint memory popped into her head, “Talking of royalty, you never did tell me why you were so interested in the Half-Blood Prince?”

“Thought you didn’t associate with Half-Bloods?”

“I’m here with you, aren’t I?”

“You really care about that stuff?” 

Nova took in a deep breath, “I’d never tell her, I can’t stand her, but I think Granger is the greatest Witch I’ve ever met. Remember Professor Lupin? I adored him as a teacher, he made me fall in love with subject that goes against every value I’ve ever had” she sighed, “I don’t particular like people but I don’t care about any of that stuff Potter. I have a reputation to uphold, it’s important to my family so it has to be important to me”

“For what’s it worth, you’re nothing like them”. 

Nova nodded, not looking at him as she continued her own doodles on the top of Harry’s textbook. His confirmation that he saw her as someone different to the burden of her family, who had caused him alone so much misery, took a weight off her shoulders she was unaware she was holding. She had never craved someone to like her as much as she did Harry, she was not quite sure how to feel about it. 

Instead she shrugged, “Just don’t go tell Granger my secrets alright? Last thing I need is for her to think I admire her in anyway”

“We’re not really on talking terms right now” Harry told her awkwardly, “So, no worry there”

“Why aren’t you speaking?” she questioned nudging him with her elbow when he did not reply, “I know I’m nosey and there’s a lot of things we should not be sharing with one another, so if it’s one of those you can tell me to fuck off”

Harry spluttered out a laugh at her bluntness, “When we came back the other night, Professor McGonagall found us out past curfew. She let me off because of where we were but she said she would have granted permission if we just asked. Hermione told her it was your idea to take me there” Harry confessed with a frown, “I told them it wasn’t, that it was mine but the damage was already done”

“Technically it wasn’t” Nova corrected with a smirk, “The damage was done the next day when I returned home”

“Malfoy”

“Oh, give it up Potter” she chuckled lightly to herself, “You can laugh, you know?”

“No” he dismissed with a frown, “I can’t. I care about you, okay? So no, I’m not going to laugh at your misery, especially when you’re sat here covered in bruises right in front of my eyes”

She was quiet for a moment as she took in his words, not quite sure how she felt about them leaving his lips so casually. “You can care about someone and still laugh at their misfortune” she replied as casually as she could muster, not even looking at him when his face snapped up to her, “I know I can. Make up with Granger, you need one another”.

They did not continue studying for long, the air had changed between them – shifting the mood for yet another time – and it was clear they both needed some time apart. Harry left first, telling Nova he had somewhere to be before he rushed out the classroom, Nova followed shortly after. It was not until she was close to her dorm, where she intended to spend the rest of her evening, that a familiar voice called for her.

“Noves” Theo called as he rushed up to catch up with her at the entrance of the Slytherin common room entrance, “You seen Draco recently?”

“Briefly yesterday” she replied with a frown before she added, “We’re not really on good terms right now”

“Well I think I just saw something I shouldn’t have, well something he hasn’t shown me so I assume he doesn’t want me to know” he explained as Nova cocked her eyebrow in confusion, “Just go and find him and look at his arm, his left forearm”

“What?”

“Abandoned bathroom, you know that’s where he hides out when shit goes wrong” Theo sighed, “It’s happening Noves, the Wars starting”.

Nova nodded as Theo disappeared, giving her a reassuring smile as he did. It did not take her long to get there but she walked into the bathroom silently, the familiar mop of white, blonde hair was ahead of her, leaning over the sinks as if he were sinking into them himself. His knuckles were white, gripping the sides of faucets harshly. She still held so much resentment towards her brother, someone who were once her best friend pushing her aside as if she meant nothing. His eyes peered into the mirror as he sensed someone else in the room, the dark rings around his blood shot sockets staring deep into Nova’s soul.

He made no attempt to move, “Fuck off Nova”.

She glanced at him vowing to herself to not take his insults to heart, flicking her wand at the door with a quick locking charm, “I am done with secrets” she stated as she took a step towards him. Her face was still bruised, only slightly, the hexing charms cutting deep patterns into her skin that could not be reversed with magic. That was the thing about Dark Magic, it left a mark.

“This isn’t my secret to tell” he insisted, freezing up even further with every step his sister took towards him

She moved closer. “No more secrets” she repeated

“Don’t make me do something I do not want to do” Draco warned, his teeth digging into his bottom lip as if the secret was eating away at himself, “I don’t want to hurt you Nova”

“You would never hurt me” she promised him, close enough now that he was in arms reach of her, “Semper Simul, remember?”

He nodded. She took it for permission as she moved even closer to him, she knew what she had to do and after Theo’s confession she was surprised it had taken her so long to work out what he was. It made sense of course, her Aunt was one and Father was one many years ago. She could not believe it had taken her so long to work out. Her fingertips reaching out to the sleeve of his left arm she watched as he shook under her touch as she reached towards the buttons of his cuffs. He began to move his arm away from her in fright, vowing to keep the secret his own even if it was for a few seconds more.

“You’re going to hate me” he whispered, his voice cracking as he spoke

She shook her head grasping his wrist in hers again, “I could never hate you”

“Just –” he paused accepting his fate, “Just know, I did not have a choice”.

She nodded once again, believing him. The Malfoy’s twins may have much, money, intelligence, power but once thing they did not have, as Nova herself knew very well, was a choice. It was something they have both craved so much in their teenage years, not knowing what it was until they arrived at Hogwarts. Nova remembered fondly the whispers of other students while they were waiting to be sorted into their houses in their first year:

_“My mum told me the sorting hat takes your choice in account, I’m going to ask for Ravenclaw”_

She did not understand it then but had often wondered since if her life would be different if she had asked for a house instead of accepting Slytherin like her family expected her to be. She did love her house but she felt like she had so much to prove, that not all Slytherins were bad, but as she edged closer to her brother, she realised that maybe it was not the house at all, it was just them. The Malfoys – _was she destined to be bad?_

She pushed his sleeve up in one swift motion, not wanting to drag the torture out any longer for either of them. She knew what she was expecting to see, yet her blue eyes still widened in shock. The tattoo was dark, crisp on his young skin unlike her Father’s that faded over the years. It looked new, fresh but the thing that hurt the most is that it looked like it belonged there, taking home upon his flesh. Nova stood for a moment staring at his Dark Mark. _Draco’s Dark Mark._ She knew her brother was not the first, or last, of her family to have adapted the lifelong promise to the Dark Lord. A promise he could now not take back. Draco suddenly felt a type of shame he had never felt before, guilt maybe. Embarrassment? Nevertheless, a dark feeling settled into the bottom of spine, his legs shaking at the effects. 

“I wanted it so badly not to be true” she spoke softly, grazing her finger softly over the raised skin of the tattoo, “I think I convinced myself that it was not”

“I’m sorry” he croaked

She shook her head, “Please explain what is going on”

“Father’s in Azkaban” Draco informed her, feeling a weight off his chest at the revelation as if that secret was harder to keep than his own, “The Dark Lord is furious with him”

“Is that why you became one of them?” she replied, not even being able to pronounce the word. Even thinking of it put a pit in her stomach – Death Eater.

“The Dark Lord asked for us both” he confessed causing Nova to snap her attention at him, “I told him to take me instead, begged him. He said he would need you eventually, need your power, but he would leave you alone for now if I took the Dark Mark and completed a task for him”

“You became a Death Eater?” she croaked, “Because of me?”

“No” he insisted placing his arms on her shoulder in an attempt of a form of comfort, “Don’t you dare blame yourself for this. This was my decision, to protect you, to protect Mother. The Dark Lord is punishing Father”.

She understood why the Dark Lord was punishing her Father, she assumed it was from his cowardice from the First Wizarding War. Her Aunt Bella had made Nova promise her, before she captured and Nova was far too small to understand, that she was never stoop that low from her calling. She had become the prime disappointment in the eyes of her Aunt now.

“All this time, when you returned to Hogwarts covered in bruises it was never Father was it?” she questioned him as the links fell into place

Draco shook his head, “He’s so angry Noves, one foot out on line and –“ he paused as he rubbed his hands over his eyes, “When I saw you the other night, I thought –“ he let out a shaky breath, “I thought he had got to you too”

“That was Bella” she explained waiting for an expression from Draco that never arrived. Maybe he had witnessed the evil of their Aunt all this time. _So many secrets._ “What’s your task Draco?”

He was silent for a moment before he sighed again, “The Dark Lord has tasked me to kill Dumbledore” he admitted, “I have to kill him or he’s going to kill me”

“Okay” she breathed out shakily, attempting to cover the fright in her tone at the thought of continuing her life without her brother. She knew one day they would have to choose a side, she had known this for a while, and if you asked her months ago at the beginning of the school year, she would have told you she would choose her family, the Malfoy’s, every time. Now though, she hated to admit, she was not so sure. “Okay, we can do that”

“Nova”

“You’re my brother Draco, my best friend, I will not survive if anything happens to you” she told him strictly although a prominent shake still shattered her tone. The thought of him doing this alone was not a possibility she was willing to take on. Killing her headmaster, a man who though she did not admire like other students did but a life nevertheless made her sick to the stomach but the alternative was something she refused to even think about, “We’re in this together”

“Okay but this stays between us, no one knows”” he sighed in defeat, “There’s a vanishing cabinet that needs repairing, its so Bella and the others can enter the castle”

She nodded, “I can help with that, you’ll have to show me where it is”.

“I think it’s best if you don’t come home for Christmas” Draco instructed after a few moments of silence, “The Dark Lord has taken over the Manor, Bella is there too. It’s too risky”

She huffed, “Don’t think I’ll be missed anyways”.

Christmas or any family reunion was something Nova never looked forward too but to know that her own home was even less safe than it had been for years worried her. The world was really changing, in a way she had not prepared herself for yet and there was absolutely nothing she could yet pray things would turn out okay.

“I see you with Potter” he stated a little later, when the truth had settled in and they twins had slumped against the back of the faucets.

“I know it angers you” she replied, “But believe it or not it had to do with me and me only”

“After everything I have done, I have no right to interfere” he told her, “Just know what you are sacrificing here, you’re playing a dangerous game Nova”

She nodded as she stared straight ahead of her, exhausting by the revelations she had learnt today. “I never get to choose but this choice is the one thing I get to make, so I chose him"

Draco nodded and although he did not agree, he understood.

***

She had no intention of going anywhere but her dorm room to cry when she left the bathroom later that evening. Somehow, without even meaning too, Nova found herself waiting at the Gryffindor common room. The Fat Lady was babbling on about something that Nova did not understand, or even care to acknowledge, as she stood pathetically waiting.

“Hey” he spoke before he froze when she turned around. Her eyes were slightly puffy but not bloodshot enough for anyone to recognise she had been crying, anyone but Harry apparently, “I’ve left your book in Slughorn’s classroom, I’ll come with you to get it” he blurted out the excuse – Nova would never willingly leave her beloved textbooks behind anywhere, not to mention the fact Harry left first – before she had the reason to greet him back, something she was glad for as she was not sure if she articulate a sentence.

Ron and Hermione, who were also with him, passed confused glances as Harry reached forward and lightly grasped Nova’s wrist in his, pausing for a moment before his hand hit the skin. He quietly led her down the stairs without the word and in the direction of the Astronomy Tower, it was not until Harry had seated them both on the ground that he spoke.

“You can talk to me”

She shook her head at him, the lump in my throat growing, tears streaming from her eyes as she weakly spluttered out, “I cannot, not about this. I just needed you”

The air shifted slightly as Harry sat down next to her, grasping her hand in his loosely, pausing the action for a moment as she flinched, before linking their fingers together into a bond that could not be matched. 

Suddenly he began talking, not about anything particular, firstly, he told her about his morning at Quidditch practice. He had not eaten breakfast, so he felt quite dizzy on the field and ended up leaving halfway through. Hermione had pulled him for an early lunch, she had been trying extra hard with him recently to be on good terms again and her companionship with the elf’s meant they had a feast waiting for them in the kitchen. Ron was next, Harry was complaining about the mess he left the common room in – 

“What are you doing?” Nova whispered softly cutting him off from his speech, she kept her head forward as she looked at the grounds beneath the Astronomy Tower.

“Talking” Harry shrugged as if it was the most simply thing in the world, “So you do not have too”.

“I feel drawn to you” she confessed suddenly, “I don’t understand why, I think it’s best that I don’t but I find myself needing you around” she turned her head to face him, meeting his concerned expression, “The Wars starting” 

“Is that what this is about?” he questioned her softly

“I think everything’s going to be about that now” she replied as her glance returned to the open grounds of Hogwarts, “Just- just try not to die okay?”

“Yeah” he puffed out a nervous breath, “You too”.


End file.
